NCIS OneShots
by babylove969
Summary: This is just a collection of oneshots for NCIS: LA they are good stories that just don't need to go further than one chapter. Each will have it's own summary and warnings to go with the stories. So read and enjoy.


_**Summary: Deeks is just getting back to work after the Sidorov incident. Problems start to come up for Deeks when a new Chief of Police has a vendetta against Deeks and is looking for payback. The team race to help Deeks before he is killed undercover. WARNINGS: Violence and swear words, some kissing but nothing major.**_

The Road to Family

It had been five months since the torture at the hands of Sidorov. Sam had returned to work just a month after the event. He was perfectly fine and able to hold his own once again. He didn't really have any problems afterwards, but Hetty wanted to make sure that he was completely okay and ready for work. Sam didn't pretend like he didn't have a few problems here and there. The nightmares were the worst, they weren't even about him. They were about Michelle and about Deeks. Sam couldn't believe what Deeks had gone through just to protect his wife. Sam never expected that Deeks wouldn't give up Michelle; he was genuinely shocked when Deeks told him he didn't give Michelle up. Sam could honestly say he wouldn't have blamed Deeks if he did give Michelle up. Deeks wasn't trained for this or anything like this. He was a lawyer that turned Detective. He had seen horrible things from being undercover, but he never went through torture before. It wasn't something you could just move on from and Sam wasn't surprised that Deeks had taken more time off from work to get his head on straight. Sam had spent many hours being forced to talk to Nate about what happened. After a month he was finally cleared for duty and Sam couldn't have been happier to return to work. Deeks had kept them all at arms' length. Sam had tried to help him get through what happened, but it seemed like Deeks just kept pushing everyone away. Finally after four months they were able to start talking to him and he was allowing them to be around him again. Sam was a firm believer that the team was a family and Deeks was a part of that family. Deeks had been going through a lot on his own. He had PTSD and he had been ignoring it, which makes it very dangerous. He was depressed, having phantom pain in his jaw, insomnia, flashbacks and panic attacks. Deeks was in a very dark place and he had been there alone for four months before he finally allowed them to enter his walls. His apartment was so clean it was like a museum. You could tell that Deeks had been cleaning all day just to avoid sleep and his thoughts.

Deeks had been doing a lot better in the past month and Nate was comfortable with him coming back to work. Deeks was still having some phantom pain and spouts of insomnia, but he was doing a lot better. PTSD would take a long time to be healed and it was something that Deeks was working through each and every day, but he couldn't just not work while he was dealing with it. Getting back into a normal routine would be of great help for Deeks to heal from everything. He had gotten a lot better, but he wasn't perfect and Sam had every intentions of keeping a very close eye on him. Not because he didn't trust him, but because he was worried about him. Sam had seen PTSD first hand many times with being in the military and Sam knew that it was something that people suffer from for the rest of their life. Deeks could go years without any problems and then something could trigger a memory and send him into a tailspin for a little while. Sam had made the mistake of judging Deeks, but he wasn't going to make that mistake twice. He was going to keep a very close eye on Deeks, because there wasn't anyone on the team that understood what Deeks was going through more than him.

It was almost nine thirty Monday morning Sam, Kensi and Callen were already sitting at their desks ready for the work week. Deeks had yet to show and they were wondering if he was late or if he wasn't going to come. He said that he was coming back today, but that could have changed since he told them.

"Did you talk to him last night Kens?" Callen asked.

"He texted me. He said he would be in today." Kensi said with some worry in her voice.

"He could have gotten called in for L.A.P.D. He hasn't been there in five months he might have some paperwork to do first." Sam said.

"Maybe" Kensi said, but the worry was still etched into her voice.

It was another five minutes before Deeks walked into the bullpen with Monty beside him.

"Monty, hey boy." Kensi said as Monty went over to her.

"You're late." Sam said with a smirk on his face.

"I know stupid traffic." Deeks said as he made his way towards his desk with Monty going over there with him.

"It's good to have to you back Deeks." Callen said.

"Thanks." Deeks said as he sat down at his desk with Monty sitting beside him on the floor.

"You ready to be back partner?" Kensi asked.

"I'm good Kens." Deeks said with a smile.

Just then Deeks' cell phone rang and Deeks knew who would be on the other end. Bates had been calling him for the past five months, but he hadn't answered the calls. Bates knew what happened and Deeks knew he would just be calling to get him to come back to work. Bates was angry towards Hetty for what happened to him. Deeks didn't blame anyone on the team for what happened, it wasn't something that they couldn't have predicted happening. The operation could have gone perfectly fine and nothing bad could have happened. It wasn't something that they had planned or expected to happen. Deeks didn't blame anyone on the team for what happened. Deeks knew he couldn't avoid his boss forever so he grabbed his phone and answered it for the first time in five months.

"Deeks"

"Deeks, finally you answer my call. Where the hell have you been?" Bates wasn't mad and Deeks could hear the concern in his voice.

"I know I'm sorry. I should have answered your calls." Deeks said apologetically.

"Its' okay kid I know you went through something horrible. Are you back to work?"

"First day; I'm at NCIS right now."

"Are you able to come in? Jason Walker wants to meet with you and speak to you."

"Jason Walker? Who 's that?"

"He's the new Chief of Police, has been for four months now. He's been reading everyone's file. He's been asking me why you were on medical leave when there were no incidents reported through L.A.P.D."

"What did you tell him?"

"That you are the NCIS liaison and the reason was classified, that I didn't even know the reason for it. He wasn't happy about it, but he let it go. His patience is going thin though."

"What happened to the last Chief of Police?"

"Forced retirement. The Mayor felt that he was getting too old and comfortable. The Mayor is trying to win the new election and he's not looking so good. He put Jason as the new Chief of Police and together they want to bring down the crime rate. He wants to go after the mob and bring down Frederick Chezhekov. Jason wants to meet with you right away."

"If this is about me going undercover for the mob then forget. I'm not coming down. I'm not going undercover for the mob."

That got Sam, Kensi and Callen's attention. They were very protective of Deeks after what happened and he was not ready to be undercover; especially for something as serious and dangerous as the mob.

"You're not, I give you my word. I can't promise that he won't put you into rotation, but if that happens I will be your handler and keep things light. I know you are still having problems after what happened I'm not looking to push you or put you in a position that you are not ready for. Just come down meet him, play politics and then we can go from there."

"I hate politics." Deeks let out a sigh and Monty put his head on Deeks' leg. Deeks petted Monty's head as he spoke. "I'm on my way."

"I'll see you soon kid."

Deeks hung up his cell phone and he could feel the other's eyes on him.

"Do not tell me you are going undercover for the mob." Kensi said in a serious voice.

"I'm not going undercover for the mob. I'm probably going to have to go undercover, but it won't be for the mob."

"You can't be going undercover." Sam said.

"I'm an undercover detective; it's kinda a job requirement." Deeks said lightly. He was trying to get the tension out of the room, but it wasn't working.

"Deeks, seriously you shouldn't be going undercover." Callen said.

"There's a new Chief of Police, if he puts me back into rotation, then I'm back in rotation. I was supposed to be in rotation a year ago, but Bates skipped me to keep me here."

"Rotation?" Kensi asked.

"There's one hundred and four undercover detectives plus forty-eight handlers in the undercover unit. Some do white collar crimes, some blue collar crimes, some do what I do and focus on the big time criminals and some float around. It's beyond detailed and scheduled. Bates has every file for every detective with literally every operation you have ever done, the alias, the outcome, what was done while undercover and if the alias is burned or not. Half of the unit goes on operations at one time with half of the handlers. You do the run for two years straight and then you get pulled out of rotation for the next two years. You're only supposed to go for two years at a time, because it gets hard and tiring after that. You're constantly being someone different; you get a day maximum between operations and by the end of two years you are so burnt out you don't even know your own name. You spend the next two years working in other departments of your choice. Some go to guns and gangs, some to homicide and some just float around. My turn for rotation was a year ago and the new Chief of Police might be putting me back in. He's not exactly happy with me right now."

"Why wouldn't he be happy with you?" Sam asked.

"He's been Chief of Police for four months now. Him and the Mayor, who is up for re-election, wants the crime rate to go down. Which means the undercover unit and guns and gang unit will be very busy. It happens every time a new Mayor or Chief of Police shows up. They want to make an impression and change L.A for the better. All it does is make us work harder and go undercover when the operation isn't ready for it. Whenever a new Chief of Police shows up injuries and death of police officers goes up ten percent. It'll be like this for a year and then he'll be just another face in the crowd."

"Deeks you still shouldn't be going undercover. Especially with your specialty." Kensi said.

"Bates already said he would be my handler and he'll make sure the operations are simple and further apart. Guys this is my job and at some point I was going to have to go back to it. Today or tomorrow I'll be going undercover, but I'll keep in contact and when I'm not undercover I'll be here. "

"I don't like this. You're not ready for undercover work. You just got back to duty." Kensi said.

"And back to duty for L.A.P.D means undercover work. That's my job. Look, I'll go and meet with him and find out what's going on then I'll come back and let you know." Deeks said as he stood up and Monty did as well.

"If we have a case Eric will know where to find us." Callen said.

"Monty you stay here with Kensi. The Chief of Police will freak out if I show up with you." Deeks said with a smirk.

Deeks went to start to walk away and Monty followed him.

"Come here Monty." Kensi called.

Monty went over to her.

"I'll see you guys in a bit." Deeks said.

"Be careful." Sam said.

Deeks turned to leave, but Monty went over to him and grabbed the bottom of his jeans and whimpered. Deeks gave Monty a smile and he bent down so he could pet his dog.

"Hey I'm fine. You can't come with me this time. I promise I will be back soon. You need to stay with Kensi alright. Keep your partner safe until I get back. I'm fine." Deeks reassured his good friend.

Monty reluctantly walked away from Deeks and over to Kensi. He laid down with his head next to Kensi's leg.

"Hurry up." Kensi said with a smile and Deeks knew that she didn't want him gone long, because she missed him.

"Are you kidding me? It's the Chief of Police, I'm saying hi and then running away." Deeks joked as he headed out to his car.

"I have a feeling we are going to be seeing more of this dog for a little while." Sam said once Deeks had left.

"Deeks told me a few weeks ago that ever since he came home that first night Monty has refused to leave him. Deeks can't even take a shower without Monty sitting on the floor by the shower. Monty just knew by looking at Deeks that he wasn't ok when he came home that night." Kensi said.

"Dogs are very smart and sensitive to people. In the Marine Core there's a special program for soldiers with PTSD where they are given a special trained dog to help them with anxiety and panic attacks. Some are given a puppy so they feel like they have a job to do and a responsibility. They have to take care of this puppy and it helps them through." Sam said.

"I'm sure Deeks will be bringing Monty around more for a little while. Monty seems to have helped him through all of this." Callen said.

"Monty has helped Deeks a lot; he was given to Deeks specifically." Kensi said.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Remember when Deeks went to that food truck and brought back those disgusting sandwiches? You asked if he hit his head and he said that he sleepwalks so maybe?" Kensi asked.

"Ya" Sam said.

"I talked to him later on and he really does sleepwalk. When he is stressed out during an operation or from after a bad operation he'll sleepwalk. Monty was given to Deeks five years ago roughly now. He was trained as a bomb dog, but Deeks' lieutenant at the time had Monty trained specifically to help Deeks when he sleepwalks. Monty was only a few years away from retirement and apparently Deeks used to be a bad sleepwalker. He almost burnt his apartment down from turning the stove on, he was found fifty some odd times by fellow police officers, because he would wander out into a busy street. Deeks had been hospitalized from getting hurt by it. No medication worked for him so he was given Monty. Now when he sleepwalks Monty keeps him in the apartment and away from the stove. Since then Deeks hasn't had any problems, he still sleepwalks, but he doesn't get hurt or leave the apartment." Kensi explained.

"Does he sleepwalk a lot?" Sam asked with concern.

"Not as much as he used to. He loves undercover work, but sometimes he gets really stressed out from it. He goes on some pretty dangerous operations alone and sometimes they get to him. Sometimes he sleepwalks and sometimes he doesn't sleep for days. It all depends on how bad the operation is. I really wish he would stop going undercover for L.A.P.D they just don't care about him or his safety." Kensi said.

"They don't care, but we do. We'll keep an eye on him while he is undercover. Eric can keep track of his aliases so we can monitor him in case something goes wrong." Callen said.

"I hate this. Why doesn't he just sign those papers?" Sam said with frustration.

"Honestly, I think he's scared to. He's a cop and that's what he associates himself as. For him the title is freaking him out. If he messes up undercover then it's only himself that he lets down and gets hurt, but being on a team someone else could get hurt. I think he's just afraid and lacking confidence with it all." Kensi said.

"Deeks was abused growing up a lot of abused children never get true confidence in themselves. Deeks is confident going undercover, because he knows he's great at it. He's survived situations where most wouldn't, but that doesn't mean he has confidence in himself completely." Callen said.

"What about his mother?" Sam asked.

"He doesn't talk about her or even mentions her. I don't even know if she's alive or not." Kensi said.

"So he doesn't have any family?" Callen asked.

"I don't know. He's mentioned a younger sister once, but that's it I don't know who she is, how old or where she is. To be honest I don't even know if he was serious when he said it. He said it to a suspect in a joking way so I have no idea. In the hospital he has Hetty as his next of kin so if he does have family he must not be close to them." Kensi said.

"I think it's going to take a long time before we know everything about Deeks." Sam said.

"Well you're one to talk. I've known you for years and I just recently found out you have a wife and kids." Kensi said lightly.

"I was keeping them safe. I don't think that's why Deeks has never mentioned any family." Sam said in his defense.

There was a whistle followed by Eric's voice.

"We got one." Eric said from the top of the stairs.

They got up and Kensi had Monty follow her up the stairs and into the Ops center. Hetty came up and saw that Monty was there, but Deeks wasn't.

"Where is Mr. Deeks and why is Monty here?"

"Deeks got called down to L.A.P.D to meet with the new Chief of Police. According to Bates the new Chief has been asking about Deeks and why he was on medical leave without any incident reports from L.A.P.D. Bates thinks that Deeks will have to go undercover again. Monty is here, because Deeks couldn't bring him into the station and Monty helps keep Deeks calm. He was worried about being back today and Monty really helps him." Kensi said.

"Dogs can be very soothing and comforting to people dealing with P.T.S.D. For that reason I am fine with him bringing Monty in when he feels a bad day coming on. As for this business with L.A.P.D he is not ready for undercover work. He works for L.A.P.D, but he also works for me. I will be speaking with Mr. Bates about this."

"Deeks said that Bates wasn't happy about it either so don't rip him a new one. It's this new Chief of Police that's the problem." Callen said.

"Who would that be?" Hetty asked.

"Jason Walker." Sam answered.

"Eric" Callen said.

"On it" Eric turned around to search for the new Chief of Police.

"Did Mr. Bates explain anything to this new Chief of Police?" Hetty asked.

"Deeks said that Bates told Walker that it was classified why he was on medical leave. Bates said that the incident happened on NCIS time and that's all he knew. Deeks did say that if he was put into rotation that he would be his handler and keep the case load light." Callen said.

"Well that's very considerate of him, but I would still prefer him not to be going undercover." Hetty said.

"Okay Jason Walker is fifty-three years old and has been a police officer for thirty years now. Has no family, he moved up pretty quickly in chain of command. Uh-oh"

"What? What Uh-oh?" Kensi asked.

"Deeks has done a few undercover operations for I.A.B. When I.A.B suspects foul play with higher command officers they send Deeks in." Eric started.

"Deeks won't be bought or corrupted that's probably why." Sam said.

"He's also easy to talk to and he can get you talking about personal things." Kensi said.

"That's also why L.A.P.D doesn't like him. A lot of cops believe you don't turn on your own, no matter what they do." Callen said.

"Deeks went undercover at Walker's station. I.A.B suspected that a quarter of the station was dirty and relaying information to a local street gang. They sent Deeks in and by the end of the investigation sixty-three cops were fired and charged with a variety of charges. Not all of them were lower officers some were detectives and lieutenants. Walker was investigated for running a dirty station, but he was cleared and so was his record." Eric finished.

"Deeks said he had to go meet him, he must not remember who he is." Kensi said.

"This could be a problem for Deeks. If Walker has a beef against Deeks he could send him on operations that he's not ready for." Callen said.

"I will speak with Mr. Bates about this. For now let's focus on this new case." Hetty said.

Eric and Nell started to explain the case and Kensi did her best to focus on what they were saying. She was worried about Deeks and being back undercover. Kensi didn't think that he was ready for that just yet. He was ready to be back at work, but going undercover was different. She understood that he was an undercover detective, but he also worked for them and he could have just stayed with them until he was ready to go undercover again. She hated that he worked for L.A.P.D they didn't care about him and he didn't belong there. He belonged with the team where he was family to them. The experience with Sidorov was horrible, but it did bring them all together. Sam and Deeks had been getting along and Sam was more accepting of Deeks. It was a nice change and Kensi didn't want anything to destroy the new found peace on the team.

Deeks walked into his precinct and headed up to Bates' office. He really didn't want to meet with the new Chief of Police, but he knew he didn't have a choice. He would be forced to go undercover and Deeks was just hoping Bates kept to his word and kept it light. Deeks wasn't ready for a full blown rotation, especially in the places he tends to be sent undercover in. They were hard enough to begin with let alone after what had happened to him. Deeks really wasn't in the mood for this. All he wanted was an easy first day back to work. He wanted to be able to get through the day without having any anxiety or panic attacks. That's why he brought Monty with him to work today. Monty had been able to keep him calm and relaxed when he was feeling any anxiety. He didn't know why, but Monty just made him feel better so he brought him with him today. The problem was he couldn't bring Monty on undercover operations. He would be completely alone and he didn't know how well that would go over for him. Deeks could already start to feel the anxiety creeping up on him. Deeks pulled his cell phone out and sent Kensi a text. She had also been his rock when he needed it and for that Deeks knew he could never repay her for it.

'_Freaking out a little bit. I just got to the station.'_

Deeks knocked on Bates office door and when he heard him say enter he walked into the room. When he walked in Bates was sitting at his desk and another man was sitting in one of the visitor's chairs. Deeks assumed by the uniform that it was the new Chief of Police. When he turned around that was when Deeks recognized the man. Deeks could feel his heart going into his throat when he saw who the new Chief of Police was. Deeks could feel the anxiety going up and up as each second passed. Deeks was responsible for over sixty officers from his old station going to jail and being terminated.

"Detective Deeks this is Chief of Police Jason Walker." Bates introduced them.

"Ya we've met." Deeks said.

"When?" Bates asked picking up on Deeks' anxiety.

"An old I.A.B investigation brought me to his old station. Sixty-three officers were arrested and terminated by the end of it. They were associated with local gangs." Deeks explained.

"So he says. They were good officers that did not deserve what happened to them." Walker said.

"The innocent men and women that were killed, because of the information that they gave out didn't deserve to die. They were all found guilty in a court of law. That's on them and not on me." Deeks said calmly.

"Is this why you have a problem with my detective sir?" Bates asked.

"I have a problem with an undercover detective not going undercover. There is no point in having him on the force if he doesn't do his job."

"He works as a liaison officer between L.A.P.D and NCIS. I was the one that skipped him in rotation a year ago, that's on me not him. He works everyday over there at NCIS." Bates said.

"So he's working to solve marines' death. Not the work of an undercover." Walker said.

"We do more than that. I've worked undercover for them many times. I'm not authorized to speak about cases that we have worked, but I will say it's more than murdered marines." Deeks said.

"It's not work for L.A.P.D. What you do during your off rotation time is your choice, but while it is your turn you will work like the rest of them. Starting today you will be back into full rotation. You leave in an hour for your next operation and I don't want to hear any complaints."

"As Deeks' handler I have no knowledge of this operation. An hour isn't enough time for both of us to be informed and updated on the operation." Bates said.

"I will be his handler. I want to see how well he operates. I hear a lot about him and how he is one of the bests. You leave in an hour so be ready that's an order." Walker said as he stood up and pushed the case file into Deeks' chest as he headed for the office door.

"Well that went well." Deeks said sarcastically.

"I'm assuming I will be getting a call from that ninja soon."

"I haven't spoken to her, but the others know what is going on. So it's safe to assume so and she won't be happy."

"I'm not happy either so we have that in common. How are you really feeling Deeks?"

"I brought Monty with me today." Deeks said softy knowing that Bates knew what that meant.

Bates knew exactly what that meant. Deeks had brought Monty into the building a few times after really bad operations. For the first few times Bates remembered giving him hell about it. Finally after the fourth time he actually asked Deeks why he did it when he knew he wasn't allowed. Bates wasn't prepared for his answer when Deeks said that Monty helps with the aftermath. Bates had no idea that Deeks would sleepwalk or have anxiety after certain operations. Deeks loved the job, but over eight years it was definitely showing on him.

"Do they know why?" Bates asked gently.

"I've never told em. They might have an idea, but I never said anything. It's not the first time Monty has been there. He's even found a bomb for us."

"Where is he now?"

"Still there, I figured the Chief wouldn't appreciate it. I'm not really in the mood to explain why, especially to him." Deeks let out a sigh. "I don't know if I can do a full rotation. I don't even know if I can do this one. Bates it's literally my first day back I was just supposed to be doing some paperwork and small investigations." Deeks said honestly.

"I can't tell you I understand how you feel, because I don't. I wish you didn't know how it felt. He has a history with you so let me worry about him. I'll speak to the Police Commissioner and I'm sure Hetty over there already has ideas going through her head. I'll get you off from the rotation. I just need you to hang on long enough for me to do that kid."

"Ok" Deeks said unsurely.

"Let me see that file I'll make a copy so I know what you are doing. I don't care if he is your handler, you call me and keep me updated and I will keep your team updated. You might be one of mine, but I know you are truly one of theirs. That's why I've kept you over there where you are happy and not bringing you back over here. I know that is where you want to be and I'm fine with that, because I know if an operation comes up that only you can handle that you'll go on it for me. That's all I care about. I don't need you going undercover as a homeless person or as a drug addict. I need you undercover for the big time players and right now we don't have any that need your skills. I will handle the Chief of Police and you just focus on doing what you do best and stay alive Deeks."

"I'll let you know if something happens." Deeks assured Bates.

Bates held his hand out and Deeks handed him the file. Bates went over and photocopied the file so he could read it. He then handed it back to Deeks and Deeks headed out of the office and of the station. He would be going back to Ops so he could update the team on what happened. Deeks got into his car and checked his phone. He had a message from Kensi.

'_Just breathe. Everything will be okay just relax.'_

Deeks couldn't help, but smile. Kensi had been his rock in the past month and Deeks didn't know what he would have done without her. It was because of her that he was able to return to work. He never thought he would be able to feel okay and when he was with her he felt like he could be himself again. Deeks put his car into drive and headed out for the Ops center.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

Hetty was sitting at her desk when she got the call from Bates.

"Lange"

"Hetty, we have a problem." Bates said in a serious voice.

"That we do. I was about to call you. Where is Mr. Deeks?"

"He just left, probably on his way your way. The new Chief of Police, Jason Walker, seems to have a vendetta against him. Deeks just filled me in and Walker blames him for those officers being arrested. Seems like Walker feels like Deeks wasn't fair and the evidence was false."

"Mr. Deeks doesn't have opinions about officers or play politics. Whatever evidence that was found by him would have been one hundred percent accurate." Hetty immediately said in Deeks' defense.

"I completely agree with you. Walker has ordered Deeks to return to full rotation. He's already given him his first operation that he is supposed to leave for in an hour. He's also claiming himself as Deeks' handler. I told Deeks I didn't care that he is to keep in contact with me."

"We will be monitoring his aliases as they come up. I don't trust this new Chief of Police and I will not risk losing Mr. Deeks. I just got him back and I plan on keeping him."

"I would like to speak to you and your team, if possible."

"About?"

"A few things that I prefer not to say over the phone."

"Do you remember where you met Agent Blye last time?"

"I do."

"Meet us there in two hours."

"Thank-you."

Hetty hung up the phone and just waited for when Deeks would walk through the door. It was another fifteen minutes before Deeks walked through the door of the Ops center. Monty's head instantly popped up and went over to Deeks as he came around the corner with a file in hand. Deeks put his hand down and petted Monty as he made his way over to his desk.

"Hey boy." Deeks said softly.

"How'd it go?" Callen asked with concern.

Deeks sat down in his chair and Monty put his head on his leg. Deeks kept petting the dog's head as he spoke. The other's moved closer to him and Hetty came over as well to hear what happened from Deeks' perspective.

"As it turns out I know Jason Walker."

"We know. We had Eric run his name once you left. What did he say?" Kensi asked.

Deeks was quiet for a few minutes just looking at Monty and petting his head. They could tell he was trying to get his thoughts together and they knew that he was not okay. He was still struggling with everything that happened, with his decision to come back as a cop and not as an Agent.

"At one point men got together and said this is the line in the sand and you don't cross it. You don't get innocent people killed, you don't sell poison to children, you don't take bribes to let criminals go and you don't sell out your own people. Sixty-three officers, each one took an oath to protect everyone. Whether that is the drug dealer down the street getting shot at or the sweet little twelve year old girl just walking to school. All the teachers in the academy all tell you the same thing. That's you're a brotherhood a part of a family, but no one tells you what to do when that brother starts getting innocent people killed. Innocent officers that are just trying to make a living and then go home to their spouse and children. I put a stop to it and yet I'm in the wrong. How am I wrong?" Deeks asked looking at them for the first time.

"You are not in the wrong Deeks." Sam said.

Deeks looked over at Sam and could see the seriousness in his face.

"You would be in the wrong if you did what everyone else did and ignored it. Innocent officers, innocent people are safe now because of what you did. I was part of a brotherhood and it's not easy locking up one of your own, but you do it, because it's what is right." Sam continued.

"This job used to be so much different when I first started. Now it's all about politics and who you can't arrest, because they know someone. If I wanted to watch criminals go free I would have stayed a lawyer. I'd have a lot more money and a lot less problems." Deeks lightly chuckled.

"What is Bates' opinion in all of this?" Callen asked.

"He's not happy. Walker completely pulled rank on him. Walker is going to be my handler and I'm in full rotation. He already gave me an operation. I'm supposed to leave in like forty minutes."

"What is it?" Kensi asked.

"I have no idea. I haven't even looked. Bates has a copy of it. He wants me to keep in contact."

Callen grabbed the file from Deeks' desk so he could look at it.

"What is Mr. Bates planning on doing about this?" Hetty finally asked.

"He's going to bring it up to the Police Commissioner, but that might not make a difference. He said he would figure something out. I just got to wait until he does."

"This is for a drug lord. Looks like you are supposed to be a runner." Callen said as the file was in his hand.

"Let me guess can't find any evidence to hold him in court." Deeks said.

"Pretty much." Callen closed the file and put it down on the desk again.

"Do you have an existing alias for that?" Kensi asked.

"Ya I do. Will you look after Monty while I'm gone?" Deeks asked Kensi.

"You know I will."

"I understand that Mr. Bates is working on this, but so will I. You may work for L.A.P.D, but you belong to me. You are a member of a four man team and I will not have you gone for two years straight. I was fine with you going every now and then for an operation, but I would never had you here if you were going to be gone for two years at a time. I know you wish to be here and not undercover all the time. So I will see what I can do, but as you know I have no jurisdiction over the L.A.P.D, but I will try my best." Hetty said.

"Thanks"

Monty whimpered and Deeks looked down at him.

"It's okay boy. You get to spend some time with Kensi while I'm gone. It'll be okay." Deeks said as he petted Monty.

"What's the alias you are going to use Deeks?" Sam asked.

"Um… Travis Taylor."

"Seriously? Travis Taylor?" Kensi said with a small laugh.

"Do you know how many times I've had to make an alias? You run out of ideas. Give me a break." Deeks said lightly back.

"Is your street name TT?" Kensi joked.

"It really is ya."

Kensi, Callen, Sam and Deeks couldn't help the small laugh.

"That's horrible." Sam said.

"I know. It was my tenth operation in a row. It was my last one in my rotation and I was just burnt out I couldn't think of anything." Deeks explained.

"Eric is going to monitor your operations as they come up so try and keep us up to date on who you are." Callen said seriously.

"I'll do my best. I really need to start heading out. I have to get home and get ready and read this." Deeks said, but they could tell that he didn't want to go.

"Be safe Mr. Deeks."

"I will Hetty." Deeks said as he looked at Hetty.

"The rest of you have a case to get to." Hetty said.

"We're on it." Callen said.

Hetty walked away and headed back over to her desk. You could tell that the four of them didn't want to say goodbye. They had just gotten Deeks back and now they had to say goodbye to him for who knows how long. They didn't even know if he would come back alive.

"I should get going." Deeks said.

"Something happens or you just need to talk. You call me Deeks, I mean it." Sam said.

"It's probably just like riding a bike right." Deeks joked.

"You will be fine Deeks. You're a professional and an expert at this. Undercover work is what you have made a career off of, a name off of. You can do this." Callen said.

Monty whimpered again and Deeks knew that Monty could feel everything he was feeling right now.

"You gonna keep him with you today?" Deeks asked Kensi.

"Of course."

"You'll put his favorite station on?" Deeks asked with a smirk.

"Yes, even though it sucks. I swear by the time you get back he'll be in love with techno."

"Oh god not your techno."

"Fine, rock it is."

"As long as it's not techno. Okay boy I have to go. Hopefully I will see you soon."

"We'll walk you to the car." Kensi said and they knew she meant just her and Monty.

Deeks gave a distant nod as he got up and Monty followed him and Kensi outside to his car. Monty kept right beside Deeks and Deeks knew he was going to miss Monty. Monty had always been there for him and he didn't know what he was going to do without him. Since he had Monty he didn't have to worry about sleepwalking or any anxiety after or during an operation. Monty was able to keep him calm, but he wouldn't be able to keep Monty with him this time. Deeks didn't know when he would be able to be back home and there for more than a few hours. It wasn't fair to Monty to be home alone all the time. At least with Kensi he would have her at night to take care of him. Deeks leaned against the driver side of his car and Kensi stood in front of him.

"You can do this." Kensi said softly.

"I hope so. I'm hoping that it will be easier once I'm in. It's been a while and I think the anxiety of it is just making me nervous. I'm sure once I get into it, then I'll be fine."

"You'll be great. You are Detective Marty Deeks undercover titan. You'll be great."

"I bet you can't say that with a straight face twice." Deeks joked.

"Nope I can't, but you are one of the best L.A has. You can do this Deeks. And I will be right here for you. Call me or text me anytime you want. I'm here for you."

"I know, I can't tell you how appreciated I am for you. I couldn't have done this without you."

"I'll always be here with you, for you." Kensi ran a hand through his hair and stopped it on his right cheek. "You can do this. You have to do this so you can come back to me. I almost lost you five months ago. I don't want to feel that again." Kensi said softly.

Deeks brought Kensi closer to him and he kissed her forehead.

"I'll be back. I promise you. I'll come back to you." Deeks whispered back.

Kensi didn't care she put her head down on his chest and hugged him. Deeks held her tight to his chest and just held onto her for life. He didn't know when he would see her again, but he was determined to see her again. After a few minutes Kensi pulled away.

"I have to go." Deeks said sadly.

"Ok. Call me."

"I will whenever I can."

"Be safe"

"I'll do my best."

Kensi let out a sigh. "Okay come on Monty we have to get to work."

Monty whimpered again and Deeks made sure he gave him a pet before he got into his car. Kensi had Monty follow her back to the building and they both watched as Deeks drove away. Kensi petted Monty as he whimpered and whined as Deeks drove away.

"It's okay Monty. He'll be back. Come on we have work to do." Kensi said sadly as she went back into the Ops center with Monty behind her.

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It was just under two hours later when Kensi, Callen and Sam walked into the boatshed. Hetty had asked them to come down, but she didn't tell them why. When they walked into the boatshed Hetty was sitting down at the table with Bates on the opposite side of her. They all instantly thought that something had already gone wrong with Deeks.

"What happened?" Kensi asked with worry to her voice.

"Nothing Miss. Blye, Mr. Deeks is alright. Mr. Bates here just had a few things he wanted to discuss in person and I thought it would be best to have you all here for it." Hetty explained.

The three of them sat down at the table so they could hear what Bates had to say.

"First I would like to start by saying I am doing everything I can do get Deeks off rotation. He could be transferred out of the undercover unit, but the problem is it can take months to do it and it has to have approval by the Police Commissioner. Deeks is one of the best and he won't want him to leave making it difficult to convince him to let Deeks go."

"But he can't just force Deeks to work in the undercover unit if he doesn't want to." Kensi said.

"That might be how you guys operate, but not L.A.P.D. Deeks has put away more criminals in the eight years than officers that have been on the job for thirty years. Deeks really is the best L.A has and the police commissioner is not going to want to just let him go. Deeks has been in the undercover unit for eight years. He came out of the academy as a detective and went straight into the undercover unit. He was a perfect fit with his background. Deeks knows the streets and that life better than anyone. Most people are only in the unit for three years max if they make it that long. A lot of detectives end up dead. I've only been Deeks' lieutenant for three years now roughly, but I've seen him ever since he graduated the academy. When he first started he had this fire in his eyes, a spark. He loved the job. He would go on operations one right after the other and not even complain about it. He would go on longer rotations, but over the last eight years every operation he goes on he comes back with a small piece of himself missing. Now something that he used to love he dreads. Working undercover has made him sleepwalk, given him panic attacks, anxiety attacks, nightmares and insomnia. When he started working for NCIS that's when that fire started to come back. It's why when I became his lieutenant I stopped giving him operations and just let him be happy again. He belongs with you."

"I couldn't agree more. Mr. Deeks has everything I look for in an Agent. It's why I had created the new position. Eight years is a very long time for undercover work, especially with the operations that Mr. Deeks has been through." Hetty said.

"I think it's important that you understand why he has Monty with him. Deeks sleepwalks and it was getting to be dangerous, but that's not why. Monty is trained to keep Deeks safe from wandering around while he is sleepwalking and it has worked. Five years ago Deeks started to have anxiety attacks after a bad operation. I don't know what the operation was and he's never talked about it. At the time his sleepwalking had gotten worse and Monty seemed to help him. He used to bring Monty into the station and I had no idea about the anxiety. I would give him hell and finally after the fourth time, I asked him and he told me he was having some problems. That Monty helped keep the anxiety down. Ever since then I have always let him have Monty around whenever it was a bad day. If Deeks is going to be with you and working with you completely I think it's important you understand that."

"We had a feeling that Monty was helping Deeks through the torture. We didn't know that the anxiety had started before all of this." Callen said.

"He's never even talked to me about it before or any past operations." Kensi said.

"Deeks doesn't talk about things that are bothering him. He's never had someone that would care enough to listen to him. Deeks has had a very hard life. He's never admitted it, but he was horribly abused growing up. My training officer used to get called out to his house all the time. None of the charges ever stuck, because Deeks wouldn't talk and I mean literally he wouldn't even say a single word. From what my training officer could tell it started when he was three. On his third birthday his father beat him into a coma and left him there for three days before his mother brought Deeks into the hospital. He spent three weeks in a coma and they never visited him. I first saw Deeks when he was seven. He doesn't remember that it was me and I've never told him. I know in your line of work torture isn't a foreign experience. I'm sure after five months you would expect the person to be back to normal and okay. I know Deeks isn't."

"Deeks is a lawyer turned cop. He doesn't have the training to compartmentalize something like torture. We don't expect him to magically be okay overnight." Sam said.

"The problem is this isn't the first time he's been tortured. He was seven and I would consider what happened to him to be torture. Others may not agree. I can still remember seeing him lying in that hospital bed like it was yesterday. This small seven year old boy, he was my third call since I had been out of the academy. My training officer had already known Deeks and he told me to be prepared, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. He was tied to a chair for twenty hours while his father hurt him. He was covered from head to toe in bruises, he had eight broken ribs, a skull fracture, a severe concussion, battery acid burns all over his arms and legs, he had whip markings from a belt across his back and he was strangled so hard that it damaged his vocal cords; he couldn't talk even if he wanted to. The injuries weren't the worst part though, it was his eyes. The look in his eyes was heartbreaking. He looked guilty, like he had done something wrong to deserve this. Both of his wrists were raw, he fought so hard to get out of the restraints that he rubbed off two layers of skin at seven years old. We had tried to get him to talk, to write down who did this to him. That bastard didn't even bring him into the hospital. He had a friend drive Deeks to the emergency entrance and then just threw him out of the car without stopping. He literally crawled into the emergency room before he passed out. The hospital kept him for three months, because of his injures and for three months we showed up every single day just to try and get him to talk. We had no proof it was his father, we searched the house there was nothing. He most likely got rid of everything before Deeks was even brought into the hospital. No witnesses; expect this terrified seven year old boy."

"What happened?" Kensi asked as she could feel her heart breaking at hearing what Deeks had gone through as a child.

"The day that he was set to be released from the hospital and back into his parent's custody I went to speak to him. I had been training a drug dog and I brought him with me to the hospital. I didn't think anything of it, but I was glad I did. When I got to his room the doctor had explained that he was having problems sleeping and some anxiety. I went in and the dog went straight over to him and up onto the bed. I thought he was going to get scared, but he didn't. The dog laid his head down on Deeks' lap and it was like a different kid was sitting there. He wasn't shaking anymore, he didn't have that fear in his eyes that he had for the last three months. He was calm and it was from the dog. I couldn't get him to talk, but for a few hours I could get him calm. For a few hours he was able to relax and breathe. I tried to keep track of him after he was released, but I was transferred to a different precinct and lost him until he became a D.A."

"And you never told him that it was you that night?" Callen asked.

"I'm not sure how he would handle it."

"Why is this not in any of Mr. Deeks' records?" Hetty asked. She had found every one of Deeks' records a long time ago, long before she even had him on her team. She never came across any of this.

"Because Deeks is a very good lawyer. He had all of his childhood medical records and police reports removed and terminated. He was able to find a judge willing to rule in his favor and they were terminated. You never would have found them, because he took the files and shredded them. I'm telling you all this, because I don't want him to quit L.A.P.D and become an Agent only for you to walk away from him. If you can't accept him and his past and problems then it's better for you to leave him alone and I will transfer him into the detectives unit. I don't want him to become an agent and then be all on his own. So if you can't accept him then say so now and I'll do what I can to get him in a different unit."

"Deeks is a part of this team. He is family and you don't turn your back on family. Deeks has problems, but we all do. We're not going anywhere, even if he wants to be a cop and not on the team, he's still family and we will be there for him." Sam said.

"Mr. Deeks is an exceptional operator and if that means an exception needs to be made on occasion then that is fine. If he needs to bring Monty in on bad days then that is perfectly acceptable to me." Hetty said.

"He needs therapy." Kensi said.

"I've tried to find a therapist for him, but the problem is I can't find one that would understand the life of an undercover. He needs to talk to someone that can understand the life and unfortunately undercovers don't tend to turn into therapists after they leave the unit." Bates said.

"I will look into it and see if I can find someone that will be able to understand and relate to Mr. Deeks." Hetty said.

"What are we doing about this Jason Walker?" Sam asked.

Bates put a file down on the table.

"This is Walker's file that we have on record. I don't know if it will be any help to you, but I made a copy of it for you to go through. I have a meeting tomorrow with the police commissioner to speak to him about this."

"And if he won't do anything?" Kensi asked.

"Then I will submit the paperwork for Deeks to be transferred to a different unit."

"Can't he just quit?" Callen asked.

"He could, but it's not that simple. The undercover unit has different protocols. There are aliases that need to be closed off, the police commissioner and the chief of police have to approve of it. It's difficult to quit the unit especially at Deeks' level. If he doesn't wait for approval and just walks off he could lose his holiday pay, have to pay up to a year of salary, lose his pension and possibly be discredited as an officer of the law. If that happens he wouldn't be able to join another agency because of it."

"So quitting isn't an option." Sam said annoyed.

"L.A.P.D works differently than an agency and it's not easy to walk away from it."

"I will do what I can from my end to have Mr. Deeks on my team. I have no authority over L.A.P.D, but I will try my best." Hetty said.

"I will keep an eye on Deeks and will let you know if something happens." Bates said.

"If something starts to go south and he needs to get out. Call us first and we will get him out. I don't trust anyone over there to actually help him." Callen said.

"I'll make sure you are my first call." Bates said.

"Thank-you for the information Mr. Bates. We will do whatever we can on our end."

"I'll keep an eye on Deeks. I'm sure you have a case so I will leave you to it. Thank-you for your time." Bates said as he stood up. The others stood up as well.

Bates left them at the boatshed and headed back to his office. He still needed to know the operation that Deeks was currently on.

"I can't believe he never said anything about any of this." Kensi said with hurt in her voice.

"Deeks probably can't say it out loud. It's not something that would be easy to talk about." Callen said.

"Mr. Deeks needs more help than I thought he did." Hetty said.

"Does that mean you don't want him back?" Kensi asked. She could feel the fear creeping up on her at the thought that Deeks wouldn't be welcomed back.

"Of course not Miss. Blye. It just means that when he does come back he will be going through regular therapy. He can't be living with all of this built up. One day he will break and not only destroy himself, but anyone close to him as well. I want Mr. Deeks to be okay. I don't want him to have any anxiety. I don't want him to have insomnia or nightmares from growing up. He is welcome to be on the team and an Agent, but he needs the therapy to be able to move on from everything he has been through." Hetty explained.

"We'll be there for him when all of this is over. He needs to know that we don't care about his past. That what has happened in the past doesn't change our opinion of him." Sam said.

"It makes a lot of sense now." Callen said.

"What does?" Kensi asked.

"After everything Deeks has done undercover he should be arrogant and cocky, but he's not. He's humble and doesn't have much confidence. He has confidence in his skills, but not in himself. It makes sense now why that is. He was horribly abused; it's no wonder that he doesn't have confidence or self-esteem." Callen explained further.

"Mr. Deeks has a lot of problems from what happened to him growing up. It's common for child abuse victims. He needs to work through it with a therapist and I will be finding him one. For now all we can do is what is in our power to do and that is wait. I will see if Mr. Bates is able to work with the police commissioner. If not then I will try to work this out. For now you have a case to complete." Hetty said.

The three of them didn't want to leave, but they knew they had to. What they really wanted to do was go and find Deeks and keep him safe. They wanted to talk to him and tell him that it was okay. That whatever happened to him growing up and on operations didn't matter to them. He was family to them and they cared about him. His past meant nothing to them. They just wanted to help him. Callen and Sam got into Sam's charger and Kensi and Monty got into her car. They had a case to solve so they had to focus on that until they saw Deeks again. Kensi was praying that he would be okay and wherever he was; that he was safe.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

It had been a month since anyone had heard from Deeks. Kensi hadn't called or texted him, because she didn't want to put him in danger. She figured that he would call or text her when it was safe to do so. Kensi had been going crazy not hearing from Deeks. It was bad enough when she didn't hear from him for those four months, but she at least knew he was safe. She didn't know if he was safe this time. She didn't know if he was okay or hurt somewhere. She didn't know how her partner was doing. She didn't know how the man she loved was holding up. It was ten o'clock at night and Kensi was sitting down watching TV with Monty on the couch. Monty had been mopping around for the last month with Deeks not being there. Monty had grown very close to Deeks in the last five years and especially in the last five months. Deeks had needed Monty during those five months and now Deeks was gone. There was a knock at her door and Kensi got up and headed over to the door. She opened it to find Deeks standing on the other side. He was shaking, on the verge of hyperventilating, his hands were covered in blood and the side of his face had blood splatter on it.

"Deeks" Kensi said softly.

Monty was already up and off the couch and over to Deeks' side. Kensi gently grabbed his arm and brought him inside. His skin was cold and Kensi wondered where he had been. Kensi got Deeks to sit down on the couch and she bent down in front of him. Monty went up on the couch and laid his head down on Deeks' thigh.

"Deeks talk to me, what happened?" Kensi said softly, but the fear could be heard in her voice.

Deeks' breathing was getting worse and Kensi honestly didn't know what to do. He was having some kind of attack, but Kensi didn't know how to help get it to stop. She put her hands on his legs and slowly started to rub up and down them as she spoke.

"Deeks just breathe, just breathe for me. You need to calm down and slow your breathing down. Its' okay, whatever happened its' okay. We can work through this just calm down. It's okay Deeks."

Deeks took a few deep breaths to try and calm down. He had been trying to calm down for the last two hours, but it just wasn't working. So he decided he would go and see Kensi and Monty. Deeks did his best to focus on his breathing and Kensi's hands on his legs. His mind kept showing him what happened just a few hours ago and he couldn't handle seeing it.

"Come on Deeks, talk to me. Tell me what happened it might help. What happened Marty?"

Deeks looked at Kensi at the sound of his first name. She never called him that and Deeks knew she was worried about him. Deeks took a few deep breaths to try to speak.

"The operation came to an end. We were in a small apartment building. I had a vest on under my shirt just in case. The raid happened and everything was fine, but it went out into the street. I went out after the leader and a few other S.W.A.T. members went out as well. It all happened so fast." Deeks said with a hitch to his voice.

"It's okay. What happened so fast?"

Deeks' breathing picked back up and Kensi knew that he was getting worse. She didn't know what to do about this. She didn't know how to handle this.

"Hey it's okay calm down. Deeks you'll feel better once you talk about it."

Deeks took a few breaths, he knew Kensi was right he just had to get it out and then he would feel better.

"I was hiding behind a car. The target was shooting back at us. A six year old boy came out of nowhere. I don't know how it happened or who did it, but the next thing I knew there was blood everywhere and he was lying just three feet from me in the street. The target was shot so I went over to the boy and he was shot in the chest. I tried to stop the bleeding, but he died after a few minutes. The ambulance didn't even get there. Walker was there he came over and all he said was that, that was going to be a lot of paperwork. Paperwork. This was a little boy dead in the street and all he saw was the amount of paperwork. His mother came running out of the small apartment building across the street just screaming."

Deeks closed his eyes and put his hand through his hair. Kensi knew that Deeks was having a hard time with this. He just watched a little boy being killed for nothing. He had the boy's blood on his hands and on the side of his face. Kensi knew she had to get him in the shower. Kensi knew he would start to feel better when the blood was off from him.

"That bastard. Deeks you need to shower. You'll start to feel better without the blood on you. I'm so sorry you had to see that tonight. I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"I just… I don't know." Deeks ran his hands through his hair.

"Come on, let's get you in the shower and then we can talk more. You'll feel better after a shower."

Kensi got up and grabbed Deeks' hand to bring him up to his feet. Deeks got up and Kensi held onto his hand as she brought him into the bathroom. Deeks had some blood on his shirt and jeans.

"Hang on I have a change of clothes that you left here."

Kensi left the bathroom to grab the shirt and sweatpants that Deeks had left a couple months ago. When she walked back into the bathroom Deeks had his hands on the sink with his head down just trying to breathe. Kensi put the clothes down on the closed toilet lid and then went over to him. She put her hand on his back as she spoke.

"It's okay. Come on let's get that blood off from you."

Kensi turned to the shower and turned the water on. She didn't make it too hot, but it would be hot enough to warm him up. Kensi went back to Deeks and started to lift his shirt. Deeks took in a sharp breath as her hand went against his ribs. Kensi looked down and she could see a dark bruise spreading over his ribs on his left side.

"Deeks what happened?" Kensi asked with concern in her voice.

"It's nothing, I just too a bullet to the vest."

"Deeks you have a cracked rib at least. Did anyone check you out?"

"Paramedic did. I'm fine."

Deeks moved back from the sink to take his shirt off. He looked down and saw Monty sitting there in the bathroom with them as well.

"I'll be in the living room. Are you hungry?"

"No"

"Ok"

Kensi left and closed the door behind her. She left Monty in the bathroom with Deeks. She knew that she wouldn't have been able to get Monty to leave Deeks' side right now. Deeks was not okay and Monty knew that just as well as Kensi did. Kensi thought about calling Sam and Callen, but she didn't know if that would be a good thing. Kensi could tell that Deeks hadn't slept in a while, she didn't know how long, but she knew it had been a couple of days at least. Kensi went into the kitchen and grabbed two beers from the fridge. She went over to the couch and put them down on the table. She opened hers and took a drink from it. She was going to talk to Deeks about everything that had been going on and she was hoping she could get him to sleep tonight. It was a good thirty minutes before Deeks walked out of the bathroom with Monty behind him; he went over to the couch and he sat down. Kensi could tell that he was exhausted, but at least he didn't have any blood on him now.

"I figured you could use a beer." Kensi said.

"I feel like I need a bottle of whiskey." Deeks tried to joke, but Kensi knew he was being serious.

"Don't have one of them, but I have beer."

Deeks gave Kensi a small smile as he grabbed the beer from the table and opened it. He took a drink and carefully sat back on the couch, being careful of his injured ribs. He was so exhausted and all he wanted to do was sleep, but he knew he wouldn't be able to. His mind was going crazy with everything that just happened. He knew he needed to talk about it and get everything off his chest, but he didn't know how Kensi would react or think of him after he told her.

"There's something else you aren't tell me. What is it Deeks?"

"God I'm so tired. I haven't slept in a week." Deeks said still trying to avoid what he knew he needed to talk about.

"Deeks, what happened?" Kensi asked softly again.

Deeks rubbed a hand over his face trying to wake up. It always happened when he was by Kensi he could just sleep. There was just something about her that made him be able to sleep. Deeks looked down at Monty who was awake and lying by his feet. Kensi could still see Deeks shaking and his breathing still wasn't perfect. Kensi wished she knew how to make him feel better, how to make the anxiety go away.

Deeks let out a sigh before he spoke.

"Sometimes undercover you have to do things that you would normally never do. Things that you aren't proud of or enjoy doing, but you have to in order to keep up the alias. To stay alive you have to do them."

"Deeks, whatever you have had to do to keep your cover it's okay. You do what you have to, to stay alive and to put dangerous criminals in jail. Whatever it is you can tell me. It's not going to change what I think of you. I promise." Kensi said encouragingly.

Deeks shaking was getting worse and Kensi knew that the anxiety attack wasn't over yet and she didn't know how to help end it. Monty started to whimper and Deeks began to pet Monty's head.

"Deeks you can tell me anything. I don't know how to help end this anxiety attack, but maybe talking will help you. What happened?"

Deeks let out a shaky breath before he spoke.

"Walker pulled me aside earlier. He said that Bates had been talking to Anthony Harish, the PC."

"The Police Commissioner?" Kensi asked making sure that was what he was referring to.

"Ya. Bates was able to convince him to let me quit the undercover unit."

"Which means you could quit L.A.P.D if you wanted to right?"

"Ya if I want to, I could."

"But that's a good thing Deeks. You could sign those papers and work for NCIS. You wouldn't have to go into an academy you would just be officially an Agent. Is that not something you want?" Kensi asked with patience in her voice.

"I love working for NCIS. You guys actually put criminals in jail. It's not about politics and there are not all these restrictions about who you can arrest and for what. If I could, I would sign those papers in an instant."

"You can Deeks. You could sign them tonight and be done with L.A.P.D."

"I can't."

"Why? Why can't you?"

"Walker told me that if I quit I'll be arrested."

"Arrested for what? You have permission from the Police Commissioner to quit. He can't do anything Deeks."

"He can arrest me." Deeks said softly.

"On what?" Kensi asked confused.

"I've done a lot of things undercover that I am not proud of. All undercovers do it though; if you want to live you do what you're told. Some do anything they are told. I won't go to the extreme, but there have been a lot of things I've done that were illegal."

"You've committed crimes." Kensi summed up.

"It's not so black and white in the undercover unit. You go undercover for a drug lord as a runner, but if you don't run the drugs it'll get you killed. You have to keep your cover and that means committing crimes and doing things you would never do." Deeks said in a hurry.

"Deeks you don't have to explain. I get it. You needed to keep your cover in tack. You go undercover for a variety of dangerous criminals. It doesn't change who you are or what I think of you. How does what you have done undercover make it so you can't quit though?"

"Even though you are undercover it doesn't mean you get to commit crimes. It's a fine line within L.A.P.D you do what you have to, to keep your cover and as long as the end justifies the means then they ignore what happened during the operation. On the other side of it though, you can be prosecuted for any crimes you commit. Taking in account the statute of limitations I'm looking at fifty charges if Walker would actually arrest me. Any more than ten charges bail is automatically denied and I would be in county until a trial date; and because of the number of charges it could take five years before a trial is ever set. I'm also a cop and once a cop is arrested all bets are off I would be in general population so I would most likely be dead within a few months."

"Have you told Bates about this?" Kensi asked with anger in her voice.

"No. I don't know what he'll say. Walker already gave me a new operation for tomorrow morning. I don't know what to do."

"Quitting is obviously not an option now. Where's the proof of these crimes?"

"Everything you do undercover is reported and recorded in the files and in the system. So all he has to do is look my aliases up in the system and he'll find everything. Same as in the archives. It won't take much to find."

"You need to tell Hetty Deeks."

"Tell her that I'm a criminal." Deeks let out a small light chuckle. "Lose her respect, Callen's and Sam's. Sam's that it took three years and getting tortured to earn. It doesn't matter there's nothing anyone can do. I can't change the past."

"Okay first of all, you are not a criminal." Kensi said with force in her voice.

Kensi knew that Deeks was having problems recently with self-esteem, especially after being tortured. Kensi was not going to let Deeks think less of himself and she especially wasn't going to let him think that he was a criminal.

"Kens"

"No don't even try to tell me you are. Deeks everything you have done you did to establish a cover. You did it to stay alive and to put dangerous criminals in jail. Deeks you have done things that none of us on the team would have been able to do. You go undercover all alone with no backstopping, no form of communications and no backup. We couldn't do that. We wouldn't even know how to do what you do. We are so used to having Eric and Nell watching our backs and making sure everything is perfect; that if we didn't have that we would be dead within a week. You have done that for eight years. You survived eight years of undercover work when most people don't. There is nothing you could tell me that would change my opinion of you. Nothing from growing up and nothing from being undercover. You won't lose anyone's respect for surviving Deeks. Hetty might be able to do something. Walker has no right to blackmail you into staying in a unit that you don't want to be in. After everything that has happened to you in your life you deserve to be happy. You deserve to be on a team that wants you there and that will have your back no matter what. You are so much better than you think you are Deeks. I wish there was something I could say to make you see that."

"No offense, but you don't know what I've done. You know five percent of my life." Deeks said softly.

"So then tell me more. Deeks I want to know one hundred percent of your life. Deeks there truly isn't anything you could tell me that would make me think differently of you. Talk to me." Kensi said softly back.

Deeks let out a sigh. His breathing still wasn't perfect and he was still shaking. He kept petting Monty and trying to get his breathing back under control. Deeks knew that talking about it might just help. The problem was this was Kensi. This was his partner; this was the woman he loved. He was afraid that she would walk away once she knew more about him and his past.

"Marty, I'm not going anywhere." Kensi said softly trying to encourage Deeks into opening up.

Deeks let out a breath before he spoke.

"The charges aren't light ones. There's assaults, assaults with a deadly weapon, drug trafficking, drug making, arms trafficking, smuggling; a few shootings. No one ever died and I never out right shot someone just because. It was always because they had a gun on me and I would only shot them in the arms or the legs just enough to take them down. The problem is it's a roll of the dice. I could quit and risk jail in the hopes that I would get a judge that would agree with me and the charges would be dismissed. Or it could go the other way and the judge would not agree with me and I'm looking at life without parole. If I don't quit I risk being killed undercover or Walker ratting me out to the target. I just… I don't know what to do. I don't want to do this job anymore. I can't handle doing it anymore. I remember when I first started there was a detective that was in his third year and looking to get out. He told me he couldn't do it anymore and I remember telling him that I would never get tired of it. He told me to wait that one day I would be where he was standing and there would be some rookie telling me the exact same thing. Now eight years later if a rookie came up to me and asked me what I thought of being an undercover I would tell him to run away. I can't tell you how many times I've woken up to answer the phone in the middle of the night and not know who I was. How many times I've woken up in a strange place and not remember where I was. After so many operations you just lose yourself. You're just constantly being whoever is in that file and at first it was fun, but now it's just one more name, one more criminal, and one more time you just lose yourself."

"You can't keep doing this Deeks. You need to be yourself. You need to work through everything that has happened. You must be getting tired of the anxiety when you go under. That's part of the reason why you have Monty with you."

"Let me guess Bates told you." Deeks said slightly annoyed.

"The day you left for the operation, Bates had all of us meet at the boatshed. He didn't do it to be rude. He wanted to make sure that we were accepting of you before he put the work into getting you free from L.A.P.D. Deeks why didn't you ever tell me? We're partners."

"I didn't want you thinking differently of me. I don't anyone thinking differently of me or thinking I can't do the job. Some days are just harder than others."

"None of us think differently of you Deeks or that you can't do this job. We know you can. We're worried about you. You can't just keep ignoring this. Why haven't you ever talked to someone, to a professional maybe it would help."

"It's not easy to find someone that understands what it's like to be undercover. Other undercovers, we don't talk about it. It's hard to complain about an operation when the person you are complaining to could have been on something worse. That and I'm not good with something like that. Some stranger sitting there thinking you're crazy while you sit there trying to figure out how to word something."

"You can always talk to me. I promise I won't think you're crazy." Kensi lightly joked.

Deeks let out a chuckle, but instantly regretted it when he felt pain going up his left side. Deeks face turned to pain and he put his right hand against the left side of his rib cage. Kensi got up and headed into her bathroom to get Deeks some over the counter pain medication. It wouldn't do much, but it would take some of the pain away. Kensi walked back into the living room and handed Deeks the bottle. Deeks gave Kensi a small smile and he opened the bottle and took two pills followed by a drink of his beer. Kensi sat down on the couch, but she was closer this time to Deeks.

"You shouldn't be working with that rib Deeks. Did Walker know you were injured when he gave you the new assignment?"

"Ya he handed it to me while the paramedic was looking at me. Right after the paramedic told me not to work for a few weeks. What can I say; I made a lot of enemies in L.A.P.D."

"Why haven't you slept in a week?"

"Just couldn't. I haven't really slept well all month. It's not easy to get my mind to shut off."

"Come on you need sleep and I think I know how to get you to sleep."

Kensi got up off the couch and held her hand out for Deeks to take it. Deeks took Kensi's hand and stood up. He let her guide him down to her bedroom with Monty following behind them. They went into Kensi's bedroom and Kensi let go of Deeks' hand to grab a change of clothes. She was still in her jeans and shirt from work, so she grabbed a t-shirt and sweatpants and headed into her bathroom to get changed. Monty went over to the side of the bed and laid down on the floor. Deeks headed over to the bed on the side that Monty was on and sat against the headboard. Kensi came into the room a few minutes later changed into comfortable clothing. She went over to the bed and sat down beside Deeks.

"You need to sleep Deeks. Lay down with me. You're still shaking slightly. Just lay down with me and try to relax." Kensi said trying to get Deeks to calm down.

Deeks moved and Kensi moved the blankets back so they could lie down under the covers. They both laid down under the covers and Kensi went and curled into Deeks' chest. Deeks wrapped an arm around Kensi and just tried to get his body to relax.

"Am I hurting your ribs?" Kensi asked with concern.

"No you're fine." Deeks said with a tired voice.

"I missed you." Kensi said softly.

"I missed you."

Kensi started to trace circles over Deeks' chest with her finger. She was trying to get Deeks calm so he could sleep. She could slowly start to feel him falling asleep and after what Kensi figured was a good half an hour Deeks' breathing had evened out and he was no longer shaking. Kensi was worried about Deeks, but there wasn't anything she could do for him besides what she was doing. Tomorrow she would talk to Hetty about what Walker was doing to Deeks and see what they could do. For now Kensi closed her eyes and tried to sleep as well.

Kensi was woken up by the sound of a transport truck driving by. She noticed that she was alone in the bed and she saw that Monty was gone as well. Kensi got up and headed out into the living room to see that Deeks was awake and looking out the window with Monty sitting beside him. Kensi walked over to him making sure her reflection was in the window so he wouldn't get startled. She wrapped her arms around his stomach and placed her head on his shoulder from behind him. Deeks wrapped his arms around hers that were around his stomach.

"What time is it?" Deeks asked.

"Just after two. You should be sleeping. How long have you been awake?"

"I don't know about an hour I guess."

"Bad dream?"

"Ya"

"The little boy?" Kensi asked gently.

"Ya. I can't get the sound of his mother's scream out of my head. It's been three years since I've had to do this. I forgot how hard it is to come back. To go back to being yourself like nothing happened."

Kensi nuzzled her face into Deeks' neck trying to offer him some comfort and support. She didn't know what to say; because she had never been through anything he had been through. She didn't understand what it was like to be an undercover operative. She didn't know what it was like to be a different person for months on end and then go into a different alias for another set of months.

"What are we doing?" Deeks asked softly.

"We're standing here looking out my window." Kensi said, even though she knew what he meant.

"You know what I mean. I know we haven't talked about what happened up on that hill, but what are we doing?"

"I care about you, you care about me. Where we go from there I don't know. It depends on what we want to happen, but we don't have to figure that out tonight."

"But you do want to figure it out?"

"When you're ready, we'll figure it out. Until then can't we just enjoy each other's company?"

"Absolutely."

"Come back to bed; even if you can't sleep at least come hold me so I can," Kensi said and Deeks could feel her smile against his neck.

"No one would ever believe me that kick ass Agent Kensi Marie Blye is a cuddler."

"Only with the right man."

Kensi said as she removed her arms from around Deeks and headed towards her bedroom. Deeks turned to watch Kensi walking away, but turning her head back to make sure Deeks would follow.

"Come on boy." Deeks said to Monty as he started to walk back to the bedroom.

Once in the bedroom Deeks crawled under the covers again with Kensi. Monty went to Deeks' side of the bed and laid down on the floor once again. Kensi curled into Deeks' chest enjoying the body heat that he gave off. Deeks wrapped his arms around Kensi once again holding her close. He took his right hand and began to stroke her hair. He could feel her breathing even out and Deeks knew that she was asleep. He continued to stroke her hair until his eyes got too heavy and he was once again asleep holding the woman he loves.

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It was eight o'clock in the morning when Kensi's alarm went off. Kensi rolled over and turned her alarm off. She rolled back over so she was on Deeks' chest again. She wasn't ready to get up and if it was up to her she would have spent the rest of the day like that.

"What time is it?" A groggy Deeks asked.

"It's eight. When are you supposed to be leaving for the operation?"

"An hour or so."

"What is it?"

"I don't know. The file is in the car I haven't even opened it yet."

"I guess that means you have to leave soon then eh?"

"Ya. I'd rather just hide here with you."

"We could play hooky. Just turn off our phones and hide from the world."

"You joke, but you have no idea how good that sounds."

"We'll have to play hooky one day then. How's your ribs?"

"They hurt and it's only going to get worse so."

"You sound so exhausted. I wish you could just stay in bed all day and rest. You need to rest with those ribs Deeks." Kensi said with concern.

"I know and if I could I would, but you know I can't."

"I hate this." Kensi said softly.

"I know; me two." Deeks said softly back.

They stayed wrapped up in each other's arms for a few more minutes before Deeks finally spoke again.

"I have to get up. I need to get home and get ready for this op, whatever it is."

"Ok" Kensi said reluctantly.

She moved off from Deeks' chest and sat up in bed. Deeks sat up as well, but he had his right hand over his left side as he sat up. Kensi could see the pain all over his face and she hated every second of it. She wished he could be able to stay here in her bed safe while she was at work. He needed some time to rest and heal from being shot. Even though it hit his vest it still hurts and it still can injure you. He had at least one cracked rib if not more and he shouldn't be moving around with them.

"Where do you stay when you're on operations?"

"Depends on the operation and the alias. L.A.P.D has some crash pads all over the city so it just depends. I don't stay at my place, because I don't want it to get burned."

"How long have you lived there?"

"It's been a long time, just over ten years roughly. I got it when I was in the D.A's office. I had been saving up to buy a place on the beach and then that place finally came up. I've always lived in places along the beach. This one is definitely the nicest. I couldn't imagine living anywhere, but near the beach."

"Well you've always been around the beach even when you were younger right?"

"Yup, since I was six."

"When did you start surfing?"

"I met Ray when I was seven and he was eleven. He hung out a lot at the beach with a group of friends. We hit it off right away and I would hang out with him and his friends. His friends were his age and up to sixteen. They surfed and when I was eight this one guy, John, took me out on the water for the first time. I was hooked ever since."

"So John taught you how to surf?"

"He did. What's with all the questions this morning?"

"I told you last night I want to know everything about you. I didn't think these were hard questions." Kensi lightly joked.

"Fine, but no hard questions this morning."

"Have you ever done any competitions?"

"I used to when I was younger. I stopped when I was twenty-two."

"Why?"

"I was really good. Every competition I was in I won. That was the problem though. I had agents and managers chasing me to get me to sign to go pro. I couldn't go to the beach just to surf; people would come up to me asking all these questions and wanting my autograph. That wasn't why I started to surf. I love surfing, but I love it because it's freeing. You can escape reality for a little while and being in those competitions took that away from it. Now it's been so long people don't recognize me so I can just do my thing without anyone interrupting me. What about you any hobbies from when you were younger?"

"No. I wasn't girly I used to work on cars with my dad. I don't have any hobbies, unless reality TV counts." Kensi joked.

"For you it just might. I have to get up and get out of here. I need to read that file before I can even start to get ready for this operation."

"Will you text me to let me know what it is or who you are even."

"I'll let ya know."

"How many aliases do you have anyways?" Kensi asked as she got up and out of bed.

Deeks got up slowly being careful of his ribs.

"Enough that I don't even remember all of them."

"That many?" Kensi asked surprised.

"It's been eight years, that's four rotations and in the beginning sometimes I would skip a break and keep going. There have been a lot of operations."

Deeks wasn't moving too great from his ribs so Kensi came around the bed to his side. She stood in front of him and pulled his shirt up to reveal his left side. It was covered in even more bruises and they were black. Kensi went over to her side of the bed and grabbed her phone.

"What are you doing?" Deeks asked as Kensi came back to him with her phone.

"Taking documentation." Kensi said as she took a few pictures of his ribs.

"For what?"

"In case any of this is brought up. Walker is trying to blackmail you so it's important to document any injuries or anything else."

"I thought I was the lawyer?" Deeks joked.

"You are, but you're in pain and exhausted so you're not thinking straight."

"Touché."

Kensi put her phone back down and she went to grab some clothes so she could shower and change.

"I'm gonna head home and get ready for this. You okay?" Deeks asked.

"I'm good."

"Everything okay at work? No problems?"

"Everything is fine. I miss my partner, but Sam and Callen are keeping me safe. If something happens I will text you or someone will, I promise."

"Okay. I'll text you before I leave for the operation to let you know what it is and my name. I don't know if I'll be able to while I'm under. Just remember no news is good news."

"Okay, I'm gonna shower and get ready for work. I'll talk to Hetty and see if she has an idea about Walker."

"Ya ok."

"Don't worry we'll figure it out."

"I know partner."

Kensi walked Deeks over to the front door and before Deeks left he turned to Kensi and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'll see you soon, hopefully." Deeks said.

"You better." Kensi said back.

Deeks gave Kensi a half smile as he headed out and back to his car. Kensi watched as Deeks left and only when his car pulled away did she turn her attention to getting ready for work. It wasn't until nine thirty when Kensi walked into the bullpen. Sam and Callen were already there at their desk when she walked in.

"Late night?" Callen asked as Kensi put her bag down.

"Ya" Kensi said.

"And what were you doing? Or should I say who?" Sam teased.

"Deeks came to my apartment last night."

That took all humor out of Sam and Callen's face.

"How was he?" Callen asked.

"I'll explain, but come with me to speak with Hetty." Kensi said as she headed over to Hetty's desk.

Callen and Sam got up and followed behind her. They wanted to know how Deeks was and based on Kensi's attitude he wouldn't be good. They got over to Hetty's desk and Hetty looked up to see her three Agents standing there in front of her.

"What can I do for you three?"

"Deeks showed up at my apartment last night around ten o'clock." Kensi said.

"How was he?" Hetty asked with concern in her voice.

"He was having an anxiety attack, his hands were covered in blood and he had blood splatter on his face and clothes."

"Is he okay?" Sam asked with worry and concern.

"It wasn't his blood, but he wasn't okay. He's not okay. It took Monty and me and I mean both of us, to calm him down. It took two hours to get his breathing back to normal."

"What happened?" Callen asked.

"The raid was going down for the operation. Deeks said the target ran out of the small apartment building and out into the street. Deeks said he went after him with a few other S.W.A.T members. Deeks said he was taking cover behind a car. After that he said it happened so fast that he doesn't even know how it happened. There was a six year old boy that ended up just three feet from Deeks out in the street. Before Deeks could even react the little boy was shot in the chest and went down. Some of his blood sprayed onto Deeks. Deeks went into the street to try and stop the bleeding. The target was killed, but the boy died before an ambulance even got there. The mother was in the small apartment building across the street. She came running out just screaming Deeks said. Walker was there and he actually looked down at the little boy while Deeks was trying to save his life and said that it was going to be a lot of paperwork."

"He actually said that about a dead six year old boy?" Sam said with disgust.

"Ya he did. I got Deeks to take a shower to get the blood off. That seemed to help, but he was still having an attack. He was wearing a vest when the raid went down and at some point he took a bullet to his left side. He doesn't know when it happened; it could have been when he went out to the little boy." Kensi took her phone out and opened the picture so she could show it to Sam.

Sam took the phone so he could see the bruises.

"You took a picture?" Callen asked.

"I wanted Sam to see it. I told Deeks it was for documentation."

"This is bad. He's whole left half of his rib cage is black. From the looks of it he has two maybe three cracked ribs. He was shot with a big bullet to cause this much damage." Sam said as he looked at the picture.

"Where is Mr. Deeks now?" Hetty asked.

"He's at home getting ready to leave." Kensi answered.

"Leave where? He shouldn't be working with his ribs like this." Sam said as he handed Kensi her phone back.

"That's the other problem. Walker found out that Bates had been talking to the Police Commissioner. He also found out that Deeks was granted permission to quit the undercover unit. Walker told Deeks that if he quit he would be arrested."

"On what charges?" Sam asked with anger.

"Deeks has gone undercover for a lot of high level criminals. While undercover he's had to keep his cover and stay alive so he's had to do a few illegal activities. L.A.P.D has never done anything about it, because to them the end justifies the means. As long as Deeks is able to get the target in custody or killed then they ignore anything he's done in the operation. The trick is he still has committed crimes and they are documented in the system and in the archives. Walker is threatening Deeks with arresting him on those charges if he quits." Kensi explained.

"How many charges are we talking about?" Callen asked.

"Deeks said roughly fifty."

"Fifty?" Sam asked shocked.

"Depending on the crime the statute of limitations could go back five years. Did Mr. Deeks say what they were?" Hetty asked.

"Drug related charges, assaults, assaults with a deadly weapon, arms trafficking and smuggling. Deeks explained that if a person is arrested on more than ten charges at one time bail is automatically denied and you spend your time waiting for a trial in jail. He also said, because of the number of crimes it could take five years before a trial date is even set. He would also be put into general population, because of it. He'll never see a trial." Kensi said.

"But he did what he did undercover to bring down a criminal or organization. Doesn't that change things?" Callen asked.

"Deeks said it would be a roll of the dice. He could have a judge that would agree with that point. He could also have a judge that doesn't see it that way."

"Why didn't Deeks ever tell us?" Sam said.

"Because he's worried about losing everyone's respect, but especially yours. He said it took him three years and being tortured to earn your respect, he doesn't want to lose that." Kensi explained.

"Deeks did what he did undercover to keep his cover and to stay alive. We've all done things we regret and shouldn't have done undercover, but you do it because you have to. I'm shocked at the number or charges there could be, but that doesn't change what I think of him." Sam said.

"Do we know what the operation is that he's on next?" Callen asked.

"No he's going to text me and let me know. He hadn't even looked at it when he left this morning."

"He spent the night?" Sam asked.

"He hadn't slept in a week. I thought he might sleep with Monty there. What are we going to do about Walker?" Kensi asked trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Upstairs everyone." Hetty said as she stood up.

They all followed her upstairs and into the Ops room. Eric and Nell were sitting at the computers just talking about their night. They stopped when they saw everyone walk into the room.

"We have a case?" Eric asked.

"I need you both to look up each and every one of Mr. Deeks' aliases in L.A.P.D's system. I need you to go through each one and remove and black out any crimes that Mr. Deeks' alias has committed. I then need you to print each file off." Hetty said.

"Um ok we can do that, but we would need to run facial recognition to get all of Deeks' aliases. We then need to read through each individual alias and case file to remove any crimes reported. Depending on how many aliases Deeks has it could take a long time." Eric said.

"While you are not working on a case you are to work on this. When you have it completed then let me know. We need this done. It seems that Mr. Walker is blackmailing Mr. Deeks into working for the unit." Hetty said.

"We're on it." Nell said.

"What about the files in the archives?" Kensi asked.

"Once they have all of the aliases fixed and printed you three will sneak into the archives and replace the files. Without getting caught by anyone or any cameras. We can't have Mr. Walker thinking we had anything to do with this." Hetty said.

"How long will it take you to get the system clean of any crimes?" Callen asked.

"It depends on how many aliases Deeks has had. It could be days, it could be weeks. We won't know until we find them all." Eric said.

"I asked Deeks this morning how many aliases he had, but he said he couldn't even remember them all. Deeks told me that at the beginning he would go for years straight doing undercovers before he took a break. Deeks could have over a hundred aliases." Kensi said.

"We'll find them, but it's just going to take some time." Nell said.

"Do what you can and let us know when you have it complete." Callen said.

"What about Walker?" Sam asked.

"Until the crimes are removed from the system Mr. Deeks is just going to have to keep doing what he is doing. I will see what I can do about Mr. Walker." Hetty said.

"So we just hope Deeks doesn't get killed?" Kensi asked with annoyance.

"We will keep track of his operations as they come up. I will see what I can do about Mr. Walker, but Mr. Deeks can't quit right now even though he has permission from the Police Commissioner. For now that is all we can do." Hetty said.

"We'll start to work on Deeks' aliases right now. We should know by the end of the day just how many there are." Eric said.

"Thanks Eric." Kensi said.

"The rest of you have paperwork you can do until a case comes up." Hetty said as she left the Ops room.

"Is Deeks okay?" Nell asked.

"He's being blackmailed by Walker. The sooner you can get rid of any crimes in Deeks' aliases then the sooner he can be back here safe." Callen said.

"We'll get it done as fast as we can." Eric said in a serious voice.

Sam, Callen and Kensi left the Ops room and went back downstairs. They sat at their own desks, but they didn't get to work just yet. Kensi got a text message and saw that it was from Deeks.

'_Avery Jackson, cartel.'_

"Is that Deeks?" Sam asked.

"Ya he's going undercover for a cartel as Avery Jackson. He didn't say what he was though."

"A cartel? Seriously he's in no condition for that." Sam said angrily.

"He doesn't have a choice Sam. He'll be killed in jail before seeing the inside of a court room you know that." Kensi said in Deeks' defense.

"I know. I'm not mad at him. I'm mad at Walker and not being able to do anything about this. Even if we can get his files switched we still have to wait until we see him again to tell him. There's no telling how long that will take." Sam said back.

"I know. He hates this just as much as we do, but the only thing he can do is to try and stay alive." Kensi said.

"He'll be fine Kens. Deeks is a pro at undercover work. He'll make it through." Callen said trying to sound encouraging and comforting.

The problem was Callen was worried for Deeks just as much as Kensi and Sam were. Deeks was not in any condition to be undercover, especially with his ribs injured. He should be resting at home until they heal, not running around for a cartel. Callen had a strong feeling that this was not going to end well and all Callen could do was hope that Deeks would make it out of this alive.

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It was a month later and they still hadn't heard anything back from Deeks. Kensi was worried, but she took Deeks' advice that no news was good news. It was a Thursday just after one in the afternoon when Eric whistled them up into the Ops room. Sam, Callen and Kensi headed upstairs to see what they had.

"You got a case Eric?" Callen asked.

"No, we finally finished with Deeks' aliases and for the record there were one hundred and eight. Deeks has been very busy in the past eight years, well technically five since he's been here with us he's only done a handful of operations."

"One hundred and eight? No wonder he has so many problems." Sam said.

"That's a lot of different people for one person to be. That's exactly why L.A.P.D shouldn't let their undercovers do that many. They should only let them be there for a few years then transfer them out. That's too much for one person." Callen said.

"I wonder how many of them he did after he developed the anxiety." Kensi said.

"We don't know what happened to make the anxiety, but we did find the operation. It was four years ago and he was undercover for a white supremacy camp. There's nothing reported, so if something happened Deeks kept it to himself. The notes from his lieutenant at the time though did mention that Deeks seemed off and jumpy. Afterwards he took a month off from the force completely and when he came back he seemed fine, but Monty was with him more and more." Eric said.

"So something obviously happened that Deeks never reported or the L.A.P.D kept quiet about." Sam said.

"White supremacy camps are hard. I've done a couple for the C.I.A. they will literally do anything to people. Deeks could have seen something horrible or been through something horrible enough to give him anxiety from being undercover. With each operation afterwards it would have just made the anxiety worse until it happened with every operation. Deeks should have been transferred out of the undercover unit four years ago." Callen said.

"Deeks is one of their best so transferring him out wouldn't have been something they wanted to do. They still don't, but the police commissioner is letting him go, because of the level of anxiety." Kensi said.

"How many crimes were there to cover up?" Sam couldn't help, but ask.

"Out of one hundred and eight aliases there were three hundred and two crimes. Some were really small and simple; some were pretty high up there. He's never killed anyone directly or indirectly. One guy ended up in a coma, but he was fine and the bill was paid for by an anonymous donation, but we traced it back to Deeks' account. Deeks paid everyone's hospital bill that he put into the hospital." Nell said.

"Deeks would have felt guilty. He's not the type of person to be able to handle doing something physically to a person. When we were fighting in the MMA operation I could tell he was holding back. The only time Deeks will ever let it all out is when he's fighting for his life." Sam said.

"Three hundred crimes, no wonder Deeks thinks he's a criminal." Kensi said.

"He thinks he's a criminal?" Callen asked.

"He called himself a criminal a month ago when we were talking. I told him he wasn't, but he didn't really believe me. Now I know why."

"Anything he's done undercover it was to stay alive and to put dangerous criminals in jail. You can't hold this against him." Sam said.

"I know. I'm not and I told him that." Kensi said.

"Is everything printed off?" Callen asked.

"Ya those files on the table are them." Eric said.

"Okay how do we get into the archives without being seen?" Kensi asked.

"The archives are kept in the basement of the station. There are cameras and a guard during the day, but at night it gets locked up and cameras are kept on. I could turn off the cameras for a few minutes while you make the switch, but it would only work for two maybe three minutes." Eric said.

"That would still give us the time to switch out Deeks' file. We just need a way in." Sam said.

"Do we have the floor plans for that station? Maybe there's a way in through the basement." Kensi suggested.

"We do have the floor plan. It would be in the map room." Nell said.

"We'll do it tonight. So whatever you need to get ready to turn the cameras off get working on it. The sooner we get this done, the better off Deeks will be." Callen said.

"We'll get on it." Eric said.

"Let's go get a plan together." Callen said as he headed out of the Ops room.

Kensi and Sam followed behind Callen and went down into the map room so they could get the floor plan of the station and the archives. Each station had its own archives to eliminate confusion and clutter in a separate building. Callen went into the map room first and started to look for the right floor plans. Sam and Kensi walked into the room just a minute later and went over to the table while Callen looked for the floor plans. They would only have a few minutes to get in, change the files and get out, but they had done things like this before so they weren't too worried. As long as they could get these files changed then Deeks would be able to quit without having to worry about jail. Once this was done all they had to do was wait until Deeks came back from his operation and then they can take him out of the L.A.P.D and have him with them where he would be safe and looked after. Callen found the floor plans and laid them out on the table.

"Okay it's in the basement in the fair right corridor." Callen said as he pointed at the archives on the blue prints.

"There doesn't seem to be a security alarm anywhere that I can see." Sam said.

"It's the basement. The person would have to get through the whole building first." Kensi said.

"The building is old which should work in our favor." Callen said.

"What about here?" Sam said pointing to a place on the map.

"That's a sewer isn't it?" Kensi asked.

"It is. We could enter from another entrance and then come up out here. No one will see us." Sam said.

"That will work. We can leave the same way. Kensi, you and I will go into the station and Sam you can be on the upper level blocking the sewer entrance. We will only have a few minutes once we are in to get the files switched and get out." Callen said.

"It's a shame we can't ask Deeks about the archives. Are they locked? Is his file in one spot or all over? We won't know until we go in." Sam said.

"I can't risk texting him. He hasn't texted or called me so it must not be safe to do it. I don't want to get him in danger by asking him questions." Kensi said.

"That's fine we'll go in prepared for anything. Tonight at ten we will go in when there is barely any police in the building. We can't even let Bates know this is going on. We don't know how deep Bates' loyalty will go." Callen said.

"Bates is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He wants to help Deeks, but he is being over ruled by his boss. It's better to just leave Bates out of this until we don't have a choice." Sam said.

"We should put the files in bags we can carry so it's easier than trying to move boxes around." Kensi suggested.

"We will. Let's get everything set up for tonight. We're going to need some kind of construction truck to block the entrance while we are down there." Callen said.

"We don't have that long to set everything up so let's get started." Sam said.

They had spent the next nine hours getting ready for the operation that night. They knew it was simple, but when you sneak into a police station anything could go wrong. They couldn't afford to be caught by anyone or any cameras. They had followed the sewer lines to make sure they were far enough away from the police station so no one would recognize them. Sam was dressed as a construction worker and had the sewer blocked off. If anyone drove by it would just look like he was doing a little bit of work on or down the sewer line. Callen and Kensi were dressed in black with a bag over their shoulders with the files they needed to switch out. They couldn't believe how many aliases Deeks has had in the eight years of being undercover. It was no wonder he was having so many problems from it all. That was a lot of people to be while trying to be yourself in between operations. It would take a long time for Deeks to be okay after everything that had happened to him, but they weren't going to give up on him and they weren't going to let him go through with it on his own.

Callen and Kensi went into the sewer and travelled along the side so they wouldn't get wet. They had to walk a few blocks, but it didn't take them long. They knew they didn't have much time to pull this off and once they did get inside they only had three minutes maximum to get into the archives and switch the files. They couldn't afford to mess up so they put all of their thoughts away and just focused on the task at hand. Deeks needed them to pull this off and they were not about to let him down. They reached the sewer entrance for the basement and Callen spoke into his ear piece.

"Okay Eric we're ready let us know when."

"Ok, go." Eric said.

Callen moved the lid from the sewer and Kensi went up first followed by Callen. They ran to the other end of the hall, being careful of any trip alarms just in case. Kensi tried the archives door, but it was locked. She pulled out her lock pick and got to work on it right away. She worked quickly and it was unlocked within seconds. They both went in and started to look for Deeks' file. It took them almost a minute, but they were able to find it in a filing cabinet. Thankfully the L.A.P.D were very organized and everything was labeled in detail. They grabbed Deeks' file from the filing cabinet and they pulled out all of his files and replaced them with the ones they had in their bags. They took the old files and put them in their bags and then replaced Deeks' file. They made sure nothing was left behind as they headed back out of the archives.

"One minute guys." Eric said.

They ran back down the hall and Kensi went first into the sewer with Callen behind her. Callen closed the lid just in time for the cameras to come back on. They walked back the few blocks to Sam and only when they got out of the sewer did Callen speak.

"We did it Eric. Good job you two."

"See you guys tomorrow." Nell said.

"Goodnight." Kensi said.

"Any problems?" Sam asked.

"No, we were able to do it. Now we just need to wait for Deeks to return." Callen said.

"That's the hard part. He could be gone for months." Kensi said.

"He'll make it Kensi. Deeks doesn't know how to quit." Sam said.

"I know, but it still sucks." Kensi said.

"Let's get out of here and head home. It's been a long day." Callen said.

They all go into the construction truck and headed back to Ops. Once back there they put the construction truck back where it belongs and then headed inside to grab their things. Kensi looked over at Deeks' empty desk and couldn't help, but feel a slight pain in her chest. She wanted her partner back and the longer she went without hearing from him the more worried she got. She knew that Deeks had said no news was good news, but she still couldn't help the worry and fear that crept up her back. She had been waiting for Deeks to come back since the Sidorov incident and when he finally did L.A.P.D took him from her. She wanted Deeks to be an Agent so she wouldn't have to worry about someone making him go undercover alone. She didn't want anyone to take Deeks from her again. All she could do though was wait for when Deeks would return to her again and hopefully this time he would be able to stay.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

It had been a total of five months since Deeks had returned to duty and since L.A.P.D took him from them. Four months since Kensi had heard anything from Deeks or had seen him. Hetty had called Bates, but even Bates didn't know where he was. Walker was stonewalling Bates from Deeks. Bates was just as furious as the team was. Bates had grown to care about Deeks and he didn't like that Deeks was being put in this position. He also didn't like that he wasn't able to do anything about the situation. Deeks was his detective and he couldn't do anything to protect him from the Chief of Police. It wasn't supposed to be that way. You were supposed to rely on the higher ranking police officers to protect you and have your back. Over the years L.A.P.D had changed and now it was all about politics and who you knew.

It was just after eleven in the morning and Sam, Callen and Kensi were working on paperwork from their last case. They had slowly been getting more frustrated and annoyed from the situation. They hadn't heard from Deeks nor seen him. Walker wasn't giving Bates or them any information about Deeks or the operation he was on. Kensi had been the worst with dealing with this. She was snippy with people, she was constantly working out or in the range and she wasn't joking around anymore. She missed her partner and not knowing if he's alive or not was driving her insane.

"I can't stand this. Why can't we just go storm Walker's office and make him talk?" Kensi finally said, breaking the silence in the room.

"Ya I'm starting to think that's a good idea G." Sam said agreeing with Kensi.

"We can't risk doing something that will make Walker keep Deeks away from us. If Deeks wasn't at risk I would have done that long ago, but we can't risk Deeks' safety." Callen said.

They heard the door open to Ops and they stopped talking. Each one foolishly hoping that Deeks would walk around the corner. They had done this for the past four months since Deeks was placed undercover once again for a cartel. Each time they were disappointed when someone else walked into the room. This time though they didn't expect to see Deeks walking around the corner and they really weren't prepared for what he looked like. He was covered in bruises, blood was all down his left half of his face, his hands were bloody, he had bruising on his neck and he looked like the walking dead. Deeks walked over to Sam's desk and they could tell he was in a great deal of pain.

"Deeks." Kensi said as she got up along with Callen and Sam.

"Do me a favor, throw that against the wall." Deeks said to Sam as he placed his cell phone down on his desk before he continued to walk over to the couch in the room.

"Deeks, why the hell are you here and not at a hospital?" Sam asked with concern in his voice.

"Hiding. He can't find me here. Just need five minutes to think." Deeks said through gritted teeth as he laid down on the couch.

They went over closer to the couch and Sam sat down on the side so he could look Deeks' over. They turned around when they heard someone and saw that it was Hetty coming over as well. They could see Deeks shaking and his breathing was laboured. That could have been from the pain or it could have been an anxiety attack.

"Deeks do you feel any anxiety right now?" Sam asked gently.

"Getting there." Deeks had his eyes closed and they could see the dark circles under his eyes from not sleeping.

"Mr. Deeks it is very important that you tell us what happened." Hetty said as she moved closer.

"Two really big guys." They could hear Deeks fighting to stay awake.

"Deeks I need you to stay awake. You probably have a concussion. I'm gonna look you over tell me if something really hurts." Sam said.

"Everything really hurts." Deeks said softly.

Sam unzipped Deeks' jacket and they couldn't believe the blood on his shirt. Sam immediately moved Deeks' shirt up and he was covered in bruising and had a few cuts on him that were the cause of the bleeding, but it didn't account for all of the blood on Deeks' shirt.

"Deeks you need a hospital." Sam said in a serious voice.

"He'll find me."

"Who?" Kensi asked.

Just then Deeks' phone went off that was still on Sam's desk.

"Him." Deeks said faintly again.

Callen went over to Deeks' phone on Sam's desk and picked it up.

"Walker" Callen said as he read the caller ID. "Do I answer it?"

"No, you do not Mr. Callen. Mr. Deeks can you tell us anything that happened?" Hetty asked.

"Bad raid."

"Hetty he needs a hospital. He could have internal bleeding." Sam said.

"Take him to the hospital and stay with him. No one, but a doctor is to go near him. I don't care who it is. No one in L.A.P.D is to speak with him. I will call Mr. Bates and see what he knows. If not I will call the Police Commissioner and get my answers." Hetty said in a dangerous voice and the others knew that blood would be spilt if Hetty was stonewalled anymore.

"Come on Deeks I need you to stay awake." Sam said.

"Deeks you need a hospital." Kensi said.

"He'll find me." Deeks said barely awake.

"He's not going near you again Deeks. Come on we need to go." Sam said.

Sam grabbed Deeks' arm and that got Deeks to open his eyes. Sam gently pulled Deeks up to get him to stand and it worked. Sam kept an arm around Deeks to hold him steady as they headed outside to their cars. Sam put Deeks in Kensi's front passenger seat. Kensi got into the driver side and Sam and Callen headed to Sam's charger. They all sped off towards the hospital. Kensi kept looking over at Deeks in her passenger seat. He had his eyes closed, but his breathing was still quick and he was shaking.

"Deeks talk to me, tell me what happened." Kensi said trying to get Deeks to stay awake.

"Bad raid." Deeks' voice was soft.

"Bad how?

"They found out I was a cop. I wasn't supposed to be there. They came early. I tried to run out of there, but two guys, big guys came after me. Kinda gets blurry after that. I remember a knife."

"Where are the guys?"

"Don't know. They went down and I left."

"Down? Like left the place down or knocked out down?" Kensi asked trying to figure out what Deeks was saying. He was exhausted and in pain so it was taking Kensi a little bit to get everything out of him.

"Knocked out."

"Okay what do you mean by it went wrong and they came early? Was Walker there?"

"Ya. They were supposed to be there tomorrow, not today. I don't know what happened. Everything was fine until this morning. The target knew I was a cop. Out of nowhere he just knew and then they came."

"How do you know the target knew? Did he say something?"

"No the way he acted. Then when I ran from the bust the two guys said that they were supposed to get rid of me later on, but they had to do it now. I don't know what went wrong."

"Did Walker say anything to you afterwards? Did anyone see you?"

"He said I had to finish the other operations. An officer is supposed to be with me to make sure that I keep going. I lost him and came to Ops."

"What other operations?"

"The ones that I was on."

"You're on more than one operation?" Kensi asked looking over at Deeks.

"Mmhmm." Deeks said as he fell asleep.

"Deeks. I need you to stay awake." Kensi tried, but it was no use Deeks was asleep.

Kensi was furious that she just found out that Walker had been putting him on more than one operation at a time. Of course he was made; anyone could have seen him being two different people and told someone else. It was a dangerous game that Walker was playing with Deeks' life and it almost got him killed. Kensi drove faster determined to get to the hospital so Deeks could be looked at.

Sam and Callen were behind Kensi keeping up with her speed. Sam was pissed that Deeks was hurt and had to hide from his boss. Deeks didn't deserve any of this. He deserved loyalty and to be a part of a team. He didn't deserve to have to worry about his boss trying to get him killed or being undercover alone when he couldn't do it anymore. Deeks needed to get out of L.A.P.D and Sam was going to make sure that happened. Sam owed Deeks his family. Deeks put himself through torture just to save and protect Michelle. A woman that Deeks had only met once. Sam was going to make sure that Deeks was safe with them and he wasn't going to let anyone bully him or blackmail him anymore.

"You alright Sam."

Sam let out a sigh. "He saved my life, he saved Michelle's life; he saved my family G. He doesn't deserve what Walker is doing to him. I don't know what's worse that Walker is doing this to him or that Deeks is just taking it. I don't know how to get him to stand up for himself. He's not just some street kid being abused anymore. He's a detective, he should be an Agent. He's so much better than he thinks he is and I can't believe I never saw it before. He doesn't deserve any of this. He deserves loyalty and respect."

"Deeks has a lot of mental and emotional problems from growing up. He might always have low self-esteem. It's not easy to be abused, but to go to the level that his own father went to. Deeks will never be okay with it. All we can do is to try and get him through this. We can be there for him and listen when he needs to talk. We can get him through this and hopefully he'll start to have less anxiety and problems. What is this going to do with his PTSD?"

"It might make it worse. It's hard to say with PTSD. The problem is Deeks has had PTSD since he was a child, but no one noticed it or did anything about it. Every time something like this happens it just makes it worse. Someone should have noticed over the years, but no one did including us. We didn't pay attention when we were supposed to. We let Deeks hide everything about himself and his problems and we can't keep doing that. He needs to know that there isn't anything he could tell us that would make our opinions of him change. For the first time in his life he has a family and he needs to understand that."

"And we will make sure he does. Once he's gotten some sleep we can all sit down and talk about it. He needs to tell us what makes the anxiety worse so we know what to look out for. I don't want to put him in a position that he isn't ready to handle. He needs to be honest with us and we need to start to figure this out. He'll be okay Sam, because we won't let him not be okay any longer. He can't do this on his own and he needs to understand and accept that. Deeks is used to being alone and having to handle everything by himself. That's not the case anymore. Deeks has us and he doesn't have to do this alone anymore."

"Whoever did this to him better watch out, because when I find them they are going to wish they were never born."

"Deeks might have already taken care of them. All that blood didn't come from Deeks."

"Hopefully we can get more information from Deeks. If not maybe Bates has an idea."

"Hopefully Kensi is able to get something out of Deeks on the way."

"We have to keep him safe G. We haven't been doing a very good job of that. We can't keep making the same mistakes."

"We'll keep him safe. We'll end this for him and make sure Walker leaves him the hell alone. Deeks is ours and we will protect him from this."

They pulled into the emergency entrance parking lot behind Kensi. Sam and Callen got out of the car and headed over to Kensi's. Kensi got out of her car and spoke as she went around to the passenger side of the car.

"He fell asleep a few minutes ago."

Sam opened the passenger side door and bent down to try and get Deeks awake.

"Deeks, come on wake up." Sam gently shook Deeks and that got Deeks awake.

"It's okay it's just me. We're at the hospital, come on you need to get checked out." Sam said when he saw the fear in Deeks' eyes.

"I'm so tired." Deeks said faintly with pain all throughout his voice.

"I know. I promise you just need to get checked out by a doctor and then you can sleep for as long as you want Deeks. Come on let's get this over with." Sam said.

Deeks went to move out of the car and they all could see the pain that he was in. Sam grabbed Deeks' arm to help him stand and to walk into the hospital. Once they walked into the door a nurse came over to them. She saw how bad Deeks was and called for a doctor.

"Right this way." The nurse said as she went off to an empty room.

Sam helped Deeks over to the room and onto the bed. A doctor came in a few minutes later and kicked all three of them out.

"He's a detective." Kensi said.

"We will take good care of him. Please just wait out in the waiting room and we will let you know." A nurse said.

"Thank-you." Sam said.

They headed down the hallway so they could be in the waiting room. Once inside the room they went over to the right side corner where they could be alone and talk.

"Did Deeks say anything?" Callen asked.

"I had him talking for a little while until he fell asleep. We need to talk to Bates and see what he knows or can find out. Deeks said something went wrong. The raid was supposed to happen tomorrow and I guess he wasn't supposed to be there for it. Walker showed up today for the raid and Deeks was there. Deeks said when he saw the target this morning he knew something was wrong. The target was acting differently and Deeks knew he was made, but he said everything was fine until this morning. When the raid happened Deeks took off and two men went after him and they fought. They said that they were supposed to take care of Deeks later on, but they were going to do it now. Deeks also said that Walker was there after the fight. Walker told Deeks that he better finish his other operations. Walker has had Deeks on more than one operation at the same time. Walker had an officer following Deeks to make sure he was going back undercover for whatever operation he was supposed to be on. Deeks lost him and came to Ops." Kensi said with anger.

"He's been going on more than one operation at a time? No wonder something went wrong. He could have been made by doing two operations at once." Sam said with anger.

"Walker is trying to kill Deeks. There's no other explanation for all of this. Why go in a day early knowing that Deeks had no idea about it. Even this injured Walker still had an officer assigned to follow Deeks to make sure he went back undercover." Kensi said.

"It also means that Walker knows that Deeks lost his tail. His apartment and every hospital in the city will be crawling with police trying to find Deeks." Callen said.

"We need to do something about this. This has to stop. Walker shouldn't be able to do this to Deeks or to anyone. There has to be some kind of protocol for something like this." Kensi said.

"There is, but I don't know what that would be." Sam said.

"I'm calling Eric maybe he can hack into the system and see what Deeks was working on. Maybe we can find out who attacked him." Callen said.

"See if he can find Walker." Sam said.

Callen pulled out his cell phone and called Eric. After two rings he answered.

"Any word on Deeks?" Eric asked as he and Nell were informed by Hetty that Deeks was injured and on the way to the hospital.

"We just got to the hospital. The doctor is with him now. Deeks said something went wrong. The raid happened one day early. Eric hack into anything you need to, to find out what Deeks was working on. We need to try and find the guys that attacked him. Also find Walker. Walker had a tail on Deeks to make sure he goes back undercover. Deeks' apartment is going to have police out front waiting for him, plus the hospitals are going to be checked. We need something to put an end to Walker once and for all Eric. Find us something."

"We're on it." Eric said in a serious voice. "Hetty just left she is on her way there. Bates is also on the way. From what Hetty said he didn't know anything about this." Eric added.

"Alright thanks Eric."

Callen hung up his cell phone and put it back into his pocket.

"They're going to find anything they can. Hetty and Bates are on their way down here. Eric said Bates didn't know anything about what has been happening. Hopefully someone can give us something." Callen said.

"This is insane." Kensi said.

"We'll figure it out. Once Deeks gets some sleep he'll be able to tell us more. For now we just need to keep him safe from L.A.P.D." Sam said.

"Deeks said that he didn't remember much of the fight, but one of the attackers had a knife. Based on the blood on his shirt Deeks must have stabbed one of the attackers. Deeks did say they both went down and then he left. Walker spoke to him after the fight, so maybe an ambulance was called for the two that attacked him. Deeks said it was this morning and he was at Ops just after eleven. The blood was still wet on the side of his head. Maybe the raid was closer to Ops." Kensi said trying to figure everything out.

"This is the closest hospital to Ops. Maybe someone was brought in here." Sam said.

"Let's ask a nurse maybe they know of a stabbing victim that came in." Callen said.

They headed over to the nurses' desk to speak to the nurse that was sitting there. Callen took out his badge to show the nurse as he spoke.

"I'm Agent Callen; this is Agent Hanna and Agent Blye. We are investigating a case and we were just wondering if you had any male victims brought in from a stabbing."

"We did an hour ago. He came in via an ambulance with another man behind him. Both were beaten and their hands were cut up. So they fought back. The one man needed surgery from being stabbed right in the middle of his stomach. He is in ICU right now. There was a lot of internal bleeding. The knife was some kind of special blade. The cut was not clean and it did a lot of damage. The other man is being kept in a regular room. He had some bruising and has a concussion. We are keeping him overnight for observations until he is taken to jail. Both are handcuffed to the bed." The nurse said.

"We're there officers with them?" Sam asked.

"Yes an officer for each one and both are still here."

"What room are they in?" Kensi asked.

"The stabbing victim is in room 504, but he is unable to talk right now. He had to be intubated. The other victim is in room 309 and he should be able to talk."

"Suspect not victim." Callen said.

"My apologies, but as a nurse we have to see everyone as a victim, even if they murdered twenty little girls." The nurse said sympathetically.

"Thank-you." Kensi said.

The three of them headed back to the waiting room to talk. When they walked in Hetty and Bates were walking through the emergency entrance doors. Bates and Hetty walked over to them right away.

"Do you know anything on Deeks?" Bates asked with concern.

"We haven't heard anything. I did a quick exam of him, he had multiple bruising, he was strangled, had some cuts on his torso, had at least six broken ribs, he had a bad cut to the right side of his face and his hands were bruised and bloody. He's with a doctor right now and no one is talking." Sam said.

"Did he say anything?" Bates asked.

"Deeks said that something went wrong. The raid was supposed to happen tomorrow and he wasn't supposed to be there. He had no idea the raid was going to happen today. Deeks also said that he was made. He didn't know how. He said that the target was different today and when the raid happen Deeks took off and two men followed after him. They caught up to him and told him that they had to get rid of him. Deeks won the fight and Walker spoke to him. He told Deeks that he better finish his operations. Apparently Walker has been sending Deeks on more than one operation at a time. That's probably what went wrong. Someone saw Deeks being someone else. Walker even assigned an officer to tail Deeks and when Deeks lost his tail he came to us." Kensi explained.

"Idiot. Why the hell would Walker put Deeks under as different people?" Bates said with anger.

"You know that answer already Roger. You just don't like it." Hetty said.

"Walker is going to have officers looking for Deeks. By now he knows that Deeks lost his tail. His apartment will have officers standing by waiting for him and the hospitals are going to be checked." Sam said.

"We also checked with the nurses' desk. Deeks mentioned a knife was pulled, based on the amount of blood on Deeks' shirt not all of it was his. The nurse said that two men were brought in roughly an hour ago. Both beaten and one was stabbed and needed surgery. He's in the ICU and unable to talk, but the second man is able to talk and both are being guarded by officers." Callen said.

"We need to speak to that man to see what happened." Hetty said.

"Eric is going to look for any information about the operation that Deeks was on. He is also going to look for anything against Walker." Callen said.

"The Police Commissioner is on his way down here now. He hasn't been speaking very much to me, but I figured with all of us he won't be able to ignore this." Bates said.

"What's the protocol for this?" Kensi asked.

"There really isn't one. Walker is the Chief of Police so I have to speak with the Police Commissioner. He then needs evidence; enough un-doubtable evidence that shows that Walker has been trying to get Deeks killed or has a vendetta against him. The Police Commissioner then makes the decision on what to do with Walker. The Mayor won't be happy, but if Walker is dirty then the Mayor has no choice. There is something you could do to sway the Police Commissioner." Bates said.

"What?" Sam asked.

"If some anonymous source reported to the newspapers about the Chief of Police having a vendetta against local police officers and the Police Commissioner ignoring it. That could be enough to make the Mayor who is up for re-election pay attention to the situation. The Mayor is the Police Commissioner's boss and he does have to do what he requests or he risks losing his job." Bates said.

"No names can be mentioned." Callen said.

"No, but even just mentioning officers in general, no names, it will get the Mayor's attention. The Mayor will order the Police Commissioner to look into it. If you're guy is able to find something on Walker and with Deeks' statement of what has been happening in the past five months. It could be enough to end Walker's career." Bates said.

"Losing his job isn't enough to make Walker stop coming after Deeks." Kensi said.

"No, but if those men got orders from Mr. Walker to attack Mr. Deeks that could be enough for charges." Hetty said.

"The one guy can't talk, but the other one should be able to. Let's go see what he has to say." Sam said.

"I'll stay here in case the doctor comes out." Kensi said.

"We'll be back." Callen said.

Callen and Sam left the waiting room and headed over to the elevator so they could go up to the third floor to speak with the man that attacked Deeks. They didn't know if they would be able to get any answers or not, but they were going to try. If nothing else they might find out what Deeks was doing undercover. They got off on the third floor and headed down to room 309. As they got to the room there was an officer stationed out front of it. They knew once they showed their badges that the L.A.P.D would know where Deeks was, but they were hoping to get something out of the suspect. They walked up to the door with their badges out.

"NCIS we need to speak to the suspect." Callen said.

"No one is allowed in there." The officer said.

"This is a Federal case. So move out of the way or you'll be arrested." Sam said.

"This is an L.A.P.D case not Federal." The officer said.

"It is now. You got a problem with this then go speak to your lieutenant downstairs about it." Sam said as he pushed the officer slightly to move him away from the door.0

They walked into the room and Callen closed and locked the door behind him. They didn't need long and they were hoping to keep the officer out from the room. The man in the bed was awake and he didn't look too happy. He was covered in bruises that they could see on him, but he didn't look too bad certainly nowhere as bad as Deeks.

"Who the hell are you?" The suspect said with annoyance in his voice.

"Federal Agents." Callen said.

"What the hell do you want?" The suspect asked with anger in his voice.

"We want to know who gave you the command to try to kill that man today." Sam said.

"What man?"

"The blonde haired man that you and your buddy attacked." Sam said with anger in his voice.

"You mean that pig." The man said with disgust.

"What makes you think he's a cop?" Callen asked.

"Got told from a very reliable source."

"Who?" Sam asked.

"None of your business."

"What was that cop doing there?" Callen asked trying to get something from this man.

"Trying to take us down I guess. Why don't you go ask him?"

"Because we're asking you. So I suggest you talk or you'll spend the rest of your life behind bars." Sam said.

"Ha no I won't. You don't spend life in jail for assault on a cop. Even I know that."

"Ya except he's not just some cop. He's a federal agent. Which means you are going to die in maximum prison unless you start talking." Callen said.

"Dude's a fed?"

"Looks like your source didn't tell you everything." Sam said.

"Dude said he was a cop. That he was there to take us down. Said a raid was coming today and that we needed to take care of him and he would take care of the raid. With him dead they had nothing."

"And you're boss just went along with this?" Sam asked.

"The boss knew him, that's how we knew it was legit. We were gonna take care of him, but they showed up anyways. Scrawny white dude could fight better than we thought."

"That scrawny white dude grew up on the streets. You're lucky you both aren't dead." Sam said.

"Who was the guy that told you he was a cop?" Callen asked.

"A friend of the boss."

"And who is your boss?" Callen asked.

"David Richard, you already have him in custody."

"What's he do? Cartel, gang? What?" Sam asked.

"Drugs and guns smuggler."

"And this friend of your boss what does he do?" Callen asked.

"He helps with the boarder and getting the drugs and guns across. He gives us the window we need for a fee. That's why the boss trusted him when he said the dude was a cop."

"What's his name?"

"I don't know."

"Have you seen him?" Sam asked.

"Once or twice."

Sam grabbed his cell phone and opened the email he received a long time ago from Eric. It was a picture of Walker and Sam showed it to the suspect.

"Is this the man you saw?" Sam asked.

The suspect looked at the phone and then nodded his head.

"What's your name?" Callen asked.

"Why does that matter?"

"Because it does. Now what is your name?" Sam said in a serious and intimidating voice.

"Matt Levi."

"We'll be back for your statement." Callen said.

"I ain't doing no statement."

"Then you're going to jail for life. Take your pick." Sam said.

Matt gave them a glare as they left the room. The officer wasn't there so they knew he was most likely on the phone with Walker and not downstairs talking to Bates. Sam and Callen headed back to the elevator and headed downstairs. When they got there another man was standing with Hetty, Kensi and Bates. They walked over there and Hetty was the first one to speak.

"Agent Callen, Agent Hanna this is Police Commissioner Anthony Harish."

"Good what the hell are you going to do about this?" Sam asked.

"If something is wrong an investigation will be done. So far nothing has been reported of any foul-play."

"We just spoke with one of the men that attacked Deeks, Matt Levi. He said that his boss was told that Deeks was a cop by a good friend. He I.D Walker as that friend. He's willing to write a statement and once Deeks is able to talk we'll know his side of the story." Callen said.

"Deeks said that Walker had him on more than one operation at a time. You can't ignore that." Kensi said.

"It's not criminal to be on more than one operation. Detectives do it all the time. It's not traditional, but sometimes it has to be done." The P.C said.

"It's done for blue or white collar crimes and only when it can be the same alias working two jobs. It's not done for the targets that Detective Deeks goes after." Bates said.

"Did Detective Deeks say he was two different people?" The P.C asked.

"No he fell asleep before the conversation got that far." Kensi said.

"So he could have been the same person and messed up. That is more likely of a scenario then the new Chief of Police being a dirty cop and trying to get Detective Deeks killed." The P.C said.

"Sir you know Detective Deeks. You know he doesn't get made ever and he doesn't lie. You can't ignore what this Matt Levi said about seeing Walker before with his boss." Bates said.

"I'm supposed to take the word of a criminal over the Chief of Police. A man who has never had a mark on his record." The P.C said.

"He ran a dirty station. A station that Deeks had to be sent in to investigate and found sixty-three dirty cops. That should be the red flag from the start. Walker turned a blind eye to all of that and blames Deeks for getting caught." Kensi said.

"An investigation that he was cleared in. You want me to believe Walker isn't innocent in all of this then you have to give me something. Something more than the word of a criminal or a detective. I need solid proof and then I can do something. He was hand-picked by the Mayor. It's not that simple to charge the Chief of Police. Give me something I can use, something I can show the Mayor that can't be denied and I'll do something." The P.C said.

"So until then Deeks is just supposed to keep going undercover. He's supposed to trust Walker not to try and kill him again?" Sam asked with anger.

"No. Detective Deeks is injured. Based on what Agent Blye said of his injuries he won't be fit to be in the field. I'll make sure he is out of rotation for however long he needs based on what the doctor says. So you'll have that time to find me something real to use and I'll use it. I'm not saying that the suspect is lying or that Detective Deeks is. I'm saying I need undeniable evidence to put an end to it." The P.C said.

"We'll see what we can find." Callen said.

"Let me know what the doctor recommends for time off and I'll grant it." The P.C said to Bates.

"Yes Sir."

"Have a good day Agents." The P.C said as he headed back towards his protection detail.

"Well that went well." Sam said sarcastically.

"It actually did. Harish has to play politics if he wants to keep his job. He can't ignore what is being said in case it's true, but he also can't fire and charge Walker without solid proof. It's a game that he has to play, especially if he wants a job. At least he's giving Deeks the time off that he'll need." Bates said.

"It also gives us a few weeks to get something solid on Walker. We can have Eric and Nell run him and see if there is any connection with the target from this last operation Deeks was on. Maybe one of the smaller fish that were arrested will be able to give us something more." Callen said.

"We need to know what Deeks knows. Based on the injuries you told me about, I'm afraid we won't be able to get that out of him for a few days." Bates said.

"We won't know until the Doctor speaks to us." Hetty said.

"Do you know what operation he was last on before this one?" Kensi asked Bates.

"No, as far as I knew he was still undercover for the cartel. I haven't heard from Deeks in almost four months."

"It makes no sense for Deeks not to contact any of us." Sam said.

"What if Walker put something on his phone? What if it wasn't safe for Deeks to contact us?" Kensi asked.

"You think Walker is monitoring his calls and texts?" Bates asked.

"It's possible. It would explain why Deeks stopped contacting all of us." Sam said.

"Walker is the Chief or Police I'm sure he knows a lot of people in the D.A's office that could put a tap on Deeks' phone." Callen said.

"Walker has a lot of contacts that he could use to keep tabs on anyone. It would explain why Deeks didn't contact me. Deeks has always kept in contact with his lieutenant or his handler. Deeks knows how important it is and how panicked we get when a detective doesn't keep in contact." Bates said.

"Have Mr. Beale and Miss Jones run Mr. Deeks' phone and see if something comes up on it. This is top priority Mr. Callen." Hetty said.

Callen pulled out his cell phone and called Eric and Nell.

"What's up Callen?" Eric asked with Callen on speaker phone.

"Any news on Deeks?" Nell asked.

"Not yet. The Police Commissioner is only giving us the time that Deeks needs to heal to bring him evidence against Walker. So we have a few weeks at most to get Walker taken care of."

"We are going through L.A.P.D's system to see what operation Deeks was on. We found a couple and we are still looking for this one. So far we haven't found anything suspicious on Walker." Eric said.

"How many operations have you found so far in the last five months?"

"Including the two we knew about six so far." Nell said.

"Alright keep looking. Also we think Walker might have put something on Deeks' phone to monitor his calls and texts. Run his phone and see what you can find."

"We're on it." Eric said.

"I'll call when we know something about Deeks."

"Thanks" Nell said.

Callen hung up his phone and looked over at the rest of the team.

"Eric and Nell were able to find a few of the operations that Deeks has been on in the last five months. They haven't found this current one yet and they are still looking, but so far they found six operations in the last five months." Callen explained.

"Six? That can't be right. He would have had to of been on two or three at a time to get that high in just five months. The first one took a month so in four months he's done five operations or six I should say for the one he was just on. That's not possible." Bates said.

"Are you sure it's not possible? I mean you must have short operations." Sam said.

"The shortest operations we have are a month. Anything shorter than that goes to the uniforms. It's a waste of time and a detective to send one undercover for a week or two. We don't have enough detectives to waste on something that small. Even though we have over a hundred we are constantly backed up on operations. So when shorter operations come up we send in uniforms to take care of it and it also lets us see if any are willing and able to join the unit." Bates explained.

"So if Deeks has been on six, technically seven with this one then it's not possible for him to have been on just one at a time." Kensi said.

"And a month is just the minimum they could go for years on the same operation. We won't know until we speak to Deeks just how long each one lasted." Bates said.

"We need to talk to Deeks." Sam said.

"What about Matt Levi. He's awake let's see what he knows. Or at least find out what the hell he's a part of." Kensi said.

"Levi said that they were drugs and guns smugglers. There was a uniform outside of his room. Walker probably already knows that we're here." Sam said.

"Which means he knows that Deeks is here." Kensi said.

"Anything we want out of Levi we won't have long to get it. There's also no guarantee that the uniform will even let Sam and I back in." Callen said.

"What room is he in?" Bates asked.

"309" Callen said.

"I'll go and speak to him. The uniform can't deny me access. I'll see what I can get out of him." Bates said.

"I'll come with you. Call me when the doctor shows." Hetty said.

"We will." Callen said.

"Let's go scare this guy into submission then Hetty." Bate said.

"With pleasure Roger."

Hetty and Bates left to go to the elevator and up to speak to Matt Levi about his part in all of this. Bates and Hetty went up the elevator and down the hall. Sure enough the uniform was still standing out front of room 309; standing guard in case the suspect tries to leave. Bates walked up to the uniform that was blocking the door.

"Move out of the way Officer Donaldson." Bates said.

"Lieutenant, I'm not supposed to let anyone in Sir."

"And who told you that?" Bates asked with a serious authoritative voice.

"Chief Walker Sir. He doesn't want anyone inside speaking with the suspect."

"I am a lieutenant. I am your lieutenant. Do you think it would be wise to not follow my orders?"

"No Sir, but I'm kind of in a tough spot here. First Federal Agents go in and now Chief Walker doesn't want anyone inside. Try to understand my problem Sir."

"You've been on the job for six months. So ask yourself this, does it make sense that the Chief of Police wouldn't want a lieutenant speaking to a suspect?" Bates asked with patience in his voice.

"No Sir, but how do I go against his orders, regardless of if I feel it's suspicious or not."

"You follow your gut. You're a rookie so you haven't learned this yet, but you gut instincts are the only thing that will keep you alive. If something doesn't seem right then it's not right regardless of who gives the orders. What do you think would be the right thing to do right now?"

"Go on in Sir. My apologise Sir."

"It's not your fault you are doing what you are told. Part of being a good cop though, is knowing when something is wrong and not following those orders that are wrong."

"Yes Sir."

The officer moved away from the door and Bates and Hetty walked into the room. The first thing the noticed was that the man in the bed was easily three times the size of Deeks. He was covered in bruises and they also knew he had a concussion. Bates couldn't help, but smirk at the man that was lying in the hospital bed.

"What the hell are you smirking at?" Matt said with anger and attitude.

"The fact that my man kicked your ass and he's a third of your size."

"He got lucky."

"No he's just that talented." Bates said.

"What the hell do you people want? I already spoke to those other two goons."

"Yes, but you didn't tell them much. You want to avoid federal prison you are going to have to do better than that Mr. Levi. And those were my goons." Hetty said.

"Look I I.D the guy that ratted your man out. What more do you want?" Matt asked annoyed.

"We want to know who you work for and what you do. So start talking or you'll be in that federal prison before sundown." Bates said.

"Look I'm just an enforcer okay. I do what I'm told and get the money that's all."

"Enforcer for who?" Hetty asked.

"A smuggling crew, Dirty Devils."

"Who's the leader?" Bates asked.

"Mickey Welsh. He picked up your boy for a runner. That was two months ago. Yesterday we found out about him being a cop and we were gonna take care of him today, but the raid happened. Now Mickey is dead."

"He was arrested." Bates stated.

"Ya and his good friend has connections all over the place. Mick won't last in prison, either rivals will get him or that friend of his will."

"That man that was in the picture the last Agent showed you, Walker. How many times have you seen him?" Bates asked.

"A few times. He was a good friend of Mickey. He partied with us one night about a year ago. He used to help us with the boarder getting the drugs and guns across. He had a lot of connections so it worked out well."

"Who gave you the order for you and your friend to kill my man?" Bates asked.

"The boss did once he found out that he was a cop."

"And Mr. Walker was the one that informed your boss of this?" Hetty asked.

"Ya last night over the phone."

"And you are willing to come and make a formal statement?" Bates asked.

"Is that gonna keep me out of Federal prison?"

"It will." Hetty said.

"Then ya fine. The boss is gonna be dead soon so it don't matter anymore."

"One of my men will come and escort you tomorrow once you have been discharged. You are to make your statement then he will escort you to jail. If you try anything he will be authorized to kill you. Do I make myself clear Mr. Levi?" Hetty asked.

"Ya" Matt mumbled.

Hetty and Bates left the hospital room and Bates gave a nod to the uniform still standing out front of the room. They both headed back downstairs to see if they had heard anything from the doctor yet. It had only been an hour and they didn't know if they were doing any tests on Deeks. If that was the case it could take a little while before they heard anything back from the doctor. They got back downstairs and walked over to Callen, Sam and Kensi.

"What did you find out?" Callen asked.

"Levi told us that it was Walker that told his boss that Deeks was a cop. He did it over the phone so maybe your guys can find the call." Bates said.

"Mr. Levi also said that Mr. Deeks had been there for two months and they were using him as a runner. Apparently Mr. Walker has helped them smuggle drugs and guns across the border with his connections. He is prepared to make a full statement tomorrow, before he is placed in jail." Hetty said.

"Eric and Nell are looking into Walker so if there was a call made through his cell phone they'll find it." Callen said.

"Any news yet?" Bates asked.

"Not yet." Kensi said.

"I suggest we sit down. It may be awhile before we have any news on Mr. Deeks." Hetty said.

Hetty went and sat down in one of the plastic hospital chairs and the others took her lead. They truly didn't know how long it would be before they heard anything from the doctor. Deeks wasn't in that great of condition and if they needed to run tests it could take a while before they heard back from a doctor. Sure enough it was a good three hours later when a doctor finally came out and walked over to them.

"You are here for Detective Deeks correct?" The older female doctor asked.

"We are." Hetty said and they all stood up so they could find out what happened.

"I'm Dr. McGinnis and I was Detective Deeks' primary doctor. I want to start by saying he will make a full recovery assuming he takes the time to rest and heal."

"We will be making sure that happens." Sam said.

"Good, Detective Deeks has some serious injuries. They are not life threatening, but they were serious. What concerns me the most; is the concussion. He has a moderate concussion which will make him a little confused and a little dizzy. The first twenty-four hours is the most important, because anymore trauma to his head and it can make it worse to the point where it becomes life threatening. So for the first twenty-four hours he just needs to be in bed resting. He needs to be woken up every three hours for the first twelve hours for a few reasons. The most important being that he can actually wake up. With concussions it's very easy for a person's brain to shut down and stop working. By waking him up every three hours then we can reduce the risk of Detective Deeks not waking up at all. Asking him questions once he is awake will help his brain function and it lets us know if there are any neurological problems. If he can't speak, or understand what you are saying then that is a red flag. I am getting into detail about this, because he is refusing to spend the night here. It's very common with police officers to hate hospitals. He seems to really hate hospitals and needles."

"Did something happen?" Kensi asked.

"It was our fault. One of my male nurses came up behind him and he didn't tell him what he was going to do. It was just a tetanise shot to be on the safe side. Detective Deeks reacted and pushed the nurse. He's fine. Like I said it was our fault. I should have seen the signs long before. He has PTSD correct?"

"He does." Sam said.

"That is in full swing right now, which is the only reason why I am willing to let him leave assuming someone spends the night with him."

"I will be." Kensi said.

"He's jumpy and shaky right now; he's definitely having some anxiety. He's having trouble focusing and he's on guard around people. I think being home is going to be the only thing that will help at this point. The attack on him was bad. He needed twenty stitches to the left side of his head right at the hair line. My guess is he was hit with some kind of wood, because we found small shards in the wound. He was strangled hard enough and long enough that it caused damage to his throat. Nothing that can't be healed, it will be sore for a week or two and his voice will be faint and rough. His hands were cut and banged up pretty badly. I don't know who he fought, but he put everything into it to stay alive. They are both wrapped and his right hand is in a brace right now. It has a bad sprain, but it will be fine in a few weeks. He had a few cuts on his torso that required stitches as well. There were three different cuts, one of his left side just under his rib cage that took ten stitches. The second was on his right side just over his heart that required fifteen stitches and the last one was on the right side of his stomach and required twenty-three stitches. In three weeks he needs to come back here and I will check the wounds out. If they have healed properly then I will remove the stitches. Lastly, his ribs took a lot of punches and kicks. He had four broken ribs on his left side and six cracked ribs on his right side. His ribs have been wrapped. We normally don't do that anymore, but I did because of how many are injured. We ran multiple tests for any internal bleeding and he was very lucky, because there is none. The ribs that were injured were lower on his rib cage so they didn't pierce any organs or his lungs. Are there any questions?"

"When can he go back to work?" Bates asked.

"His ribs will take roughly six weeks to heal properly. After six weeks he can return to desk duty or do investigations from inside the station. Then any time after eight weeks he could return to active field duty if he is not experiencing any pains in his ribs. I would recommend he gets checked out by a doctor before he returns to active duty, simply because if his ribs did not heal properly he could risk further injury should something happen."

"Is there any after care that needs to be done for the stitches?" Kensi asked.

"Just changing the bandages once a day. I have told him that and have given him some to take home. Now I will say this. I don't know what caused the PTSD. He's a detective so it could be anything. PTSD symptoms are different for everyone. Detective Deeks though has one of the worst cases of insomnia I have ever come across. He hasn't slept in at least a month from what I can tell. Now when I say that I don't mean that he's been up every hour for the last month, he would be dead if that was the case. What his body is doing is sleeping twenty minutes here and there every few days. It's not enough for rest, but it is enough to keep his brain functioning. This is very serious. He needs to sleep. I don't care how he falls asleep, but he needs to." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills. "These are sleeping pills. I tried to give them to him, but he won't take them. Maybe you will have more luck with it."

She handed Kensi the bottle of pills. "He doesn't do well with pills. He doesn't even like taking over the counter pain mediation, but he will when the pain gets too much." Kensi said.

"He did take T3's from me, but he wasn't too happy about it. I would have given him something stronger, but he's very much against medication." Dr. McGinnis said.

"His mother was addicted to prescription drugs. He's always had a problem with taking any regardless of what it is." Bates explained.

"I had a feeling it was something like that." Dr. McGinnis said.

"With the PTSD, should he be working?" Callen asked.

"He's fine to work. Police officers all the time work with PTSD. It could take years to be completely gone and most people can't afford not to work. The PTSD won't affect him all the time. He could go for years without a problem and then something could happen to trigger it and he could start to have trouble sleeping again. It's not dangerous to himself or to anyone. PTSD happens to a person's brain after a traumatic experience. You can actually see the PTSD on a brain scan. It's an injury to a person's mind and only with a lot of time and therapy can the injury be healed. He needs support, he needs to work and do what he did before the traumatic experience occurred. He needs to see and more importantly understand that his life is still the same as it was before the experience. I encourage people with PTSD at Detective Deeks' level to do their normal job. They might have problems in the start getting back into the swing of things, but they can do it. Most take it one day at a time and that's the best thing he can do. Once he does sleep he will be like night and day. He'll be fine; he just needs sleep right now." Dr. McGinnis said.

"I'll get him to sleep. I've done it twice before." Kensi said.

"Good. Talk to him about the sleeping pills and see if he is open to anti-anxiety pills. I don't know what exactly his job is. If I had to guess he works undercover." Dr. McGinnis stopped talking to see if anyone would protest. When no one did she continues. "I would highly recommend that he changes departments. It's not normal and it's definitely not healthy to have that much anxiety. I can prescribe medication for it, but it would just be better for him to be transferred to a different department."

"We already are." Bates said.

"Does he need medication for the anxiety?" Sam asked.

"Personally I don't think so. I think going to a new department and getting away from the cause of the anxiety will help. I think some therapy will be helpful as well. He doesn't need the medication if he has ways to work through the anxiety."

"I have already found a therapist for Mr. Deeks. He will be speaking with him once he is feeling physically better." Hetty said.

"Good. I know most don't want to talk about it, but he needs to in order to truly move on and be okay with what happened." Dr. McGinnis said.

"Is it safe for him to leave the hospital with his injuries?" Callen asked.

"Ideally I would like him to stay for a few days, but he's not having that. He hates hospitals. I don't know why, but he really doesn't like hospitals. If I had to guess I would say he's seen them from the inside since he was very little. He was getting dressed when I left him."

"Deeks has been in and out of a hospital since he was three. Sometimes he would be there for months straight. He's developed a small fear of them from that." Bates said.

"I figured as much. The best thing for him is to just rest and sleep. His body will heal on its own. Unless you have any other questions I have other patients that I need to check up on."

"Thank-you Dr. McGinnis." Hetty said.

"He's in examine room 3 just down the hall." Dr. McGinnis said before she waked away.

"We should make him stay at least overnight." Callen said.

"The only way he will stay is if you tie him to the bed and I don't recommend you do that. Deeks needs to be home. He hasn't been home in five months. He needs to be able sit down on his balcony and look at the beach. He needs Monty by him. Trying to force Deeks to stay here will only make him worse." Bates said.

"Go and get Mr. Deeks and take him home. Also get rid of any officers around his apartment." Hetty said.

"We'll keep him safe." Sam said.

"I'll call the P.C and let him know that Deeks needs two months off." Bates said.

"I will be at Ops seeing what Mr. Beale and Miss. Jones has for us. Keep me informed." Hetty said.

"We will." Kensi said.

Hetty and Bates left the waiting room and Sam, Callen and Kensi headed down to examine room three to go and see Deeks. They couldn't believe his injuries and they knew that he would be in a lot of pain. Kensi was hoping that she would be able to get Deeks to sleep and take his pain medication. She knew he would be in a great deal of pain and she was glad that Sam seemed to have Deeks' back. Kensi knew that Callen was worried about Deeks' mindset and how he was handling everything. Sam seemed to understand Deeks more and he was becoming very protective of him. It seemed that Sam had taken Deeks as a little brother now and not as someone he doesn't trust and is annoyed by. They walked into the examine room three and saw Deeks standing up and just pulling his shirt over his head. Kensi went over to Deeks and helped pull the back of his shirt down. Deeks looked over and saw that it was Kensi helping him and he just gave a small smile.

"You look horrible." Sam said.

"That's good cause I feel horrible." Deeks' voice was raspy and they could hear the pain in it.

Deeks' breathing was still uneven and he was still shaking. They knew that they just needed to get Deeks back home where he could feel safe.

"Let's get you home partner." Kensi said.

"He's going to be watching it. He'll have people there just waiting."

"We know. We'll get rid of them." Callen said.

"He's going to be watching. He'll know where I am." Deeks said with a slight hurry and they could hear the anxiety in his voice.

"Deeks look at me." Sam said and he didn't continue until Deeks did look at him. "We are going to get into the cars and go to your apartment. We are going to get rid of any cops around your apartment. You are going to get in bed and sleep. It's going to be fine. We are going to keep you safe. I promise it'll be okay. Let's take it one step at a time and just get you into the car." Sam said gently.

Deeks took a few breathes and then gave a nod. Sam came around to his side of the bed as Kensi helped Deeks get his jacket on. Once Deeks was dressed fully Sam placed a supporting arm around Deeks' waist to help steady him as they walked out of the hospital and towards the cars. Sam helped Deeks into Kensi's passenger seat once again and once everyone was in the cars they took off for his apartment.

"Do you remember any more of what happened?" Kensi asked gently.

"Ya… no… I don't know. Everything just hurts. It hurts to think."

"Ok just relax we'll be at your apartment soon and you can just sleep. Did the doctor tell you I have to wake you up every three hours?"

"Ya"

"Did you take any of the pain medication she gave you?"

"I took one."

"Ok, you'll feel better once you sleep."

Kensi stopped talking, because she could see that Deeks was in a lot of pain and talking made it worse. She just focused on the road and did her best not to hit any potholes that would cause Deeks any more pain. After twenty minutes they were finally at Deeks' apartment and sure enough there were two cruisers out front of his apartment with four uniforms waiting for Deeks to show.

"I told you."

"It's okay Sam and Callen will take care of it. Let's get you inside and into bed. You need sleep Deeks." Kensi said.

Sam and Callen came up to Kensi's car and Sam went over to the passenger side. He opened the door and helped Deeks out of the car. The four officers started to get out of the two cruisers. Kensi came around to the passenger side where Callen, Deeks and Sam were. She put a supporting arm around Deeks' waist to help him go up the stairs to his apartment.

"We'll take care of them. Just go inside we'll be there in a minute." Sam said.

Deeks and Kensi started to head towards the apartment and the officers went towards them. Callen and Sam were faster though and they stood in front of the four officers blocking their path.

"Move out of the way. We have orders to follow." The one officer said.

"Not anymore. This is a federal case. You are to leave the area and stay away or you'll be arrested." Callen said.

"Our orders come from the Chief of Police." Another officer said.

"And the Police Commissioner doesn't want any officers around him. Last I checked the Police Commissioner out ranks the Chief of Police. Ain't that right G?" Sam said.

"That's my understanding of it. Just like we can arrest all four of them and put them in federal prison. By the time you even get a phone call it'll be Christmas." Callen said.

"Hey we're just following our orders. And our orders are to take him into the station." A third officer said.

"Your orders have changed. I suggest you contact the Police Commissioner. Now get the hell away from this area before I lose my patience and arrest all of you." Sam said in a deadly tone.

The four officers looked at each other and Callen and Sam could see them debating on if they should be stubborn or not. After a few seconds they turned to leave and go back to their cruisers. Sam and Callen stood there and watched them drive away. They headed up the stairs and into Deeks' apartment. They could hear some shuffling in the direction of the bedroom and they knew that Deeks was working on getting into bed. Kensi helped Deeks get into bed. She took his jacket off and he removed his shoes. He didn't care about his jeans, but she helped him put on a clean shirt, one that didn't have blood on it. Deeks laid down on top of the covers. He was in a great deal of pain and Kensi wished she could take his pain away.

"Your shaking is getting worse. Is it from the pain?"

"Ya" Deeks said through gritted teeth.

"You need another pill Deeks. Where are they?"

"Pocket."

"In your coat?"

"No" Deeks moved his left hand to his left front pocket. He was going to reach in when Kensi beat him to it.

"You'll hurt your hand." Kensi said as she put her hand into his pocket to pull out the pill bottle.

"That's tempting, but I don't think that will make me feel better right now." Deeks tried to joke and Kensi gave him a small smile even though he couldn't see it with his eyes closed.

"Keep dreaming."

Kensi opened the pill bottle and headed over to the bathroom to get Deeks a glass of water. She came back into the bedroom and Deeks sat up slightly so he could take the pill. Kensi handed Deeks the pill and the glass of water. Deeks took the pill and Kensi could see the pain on his face from swallowing. Kensi placed the glass of water down on the nightstand and went to help Deeks get comfortable. She grabbed the other pillows from the bed and put it behind Deeks so there wouldn't be as much weight and pressure on his ribs. Deeks sat back and was half sitting and half lying down. He was exhausted and he just wanted to sleep. Being back home was making him feel better and so was having Kensi around him again.

"How many are broken?"

"The doctor didn't tell you?"

"She told me a lot of things, I just can't remember right now."

"You have four broken on your left and six cracked on your right."

"New record." Deeks half joked. "Where's Monty?"

"He's at my place still. He misses you. I can go get him if you want." Kensi said softly.

Deeks gave a small nod.

"Okay I'll go get him for you. Sam and Callen are in the living room by now I'm sure. I'm not sure what Callen is going to do, but I'm sure Sam isn't going anywhere. Will you be okay while I'm gone?"

"I'll be fine."

"Okay I won't be long." Kensi got up off the bed and kissed Deeks' forehead before she left the room.

Kensi walked out into the living room to see Sam and Callen standing there.

"Did you make them leave?" Kensi asked.

"They left. They weren't happy about it, but they left." Callen said.

"How's Deeks?" Sam asked.

"He's in a lot of pain. He took another pill hopefully that helps. I'm gonna go and get Monty from my apartment." Kensi said.

"I want to head back to Ops and see what Eric and Nell have found." Callen said.

"I want to stay here with him. Make sure he's okay and no one else shows up looking for him." Sam said.

"I don't think he should be alone. So if you want to stay I think that would be really good." Kensi said.

"Is he asleep?" Sam asked.

"Not when I left. He's in a lot of pain I don't know how well he'll sleep because of it." Kensi said.

"Can you give me a lift to Ops?" Callen asked Kensi.

"Ya of course. I can get my things at the same time." Kensi said.

"Call me if something comes up." Sam said to Callen.

"Same goes for you." Callen said.

Kensi and Callen left Deeks' apartment and Sam was left alone in the living room. Sam headed into Deeks' bedroom to see how he was doing. Sam wanted to be quiet in case Deeks was asleep, but he could tell that he wasn't when he got to the doorway. Sam knew that Deeks was in a lot of pain. Sam had a few broken ribs before and he knew how painful they were. He couldn't imagine having four broken and six cracked all at the same time. Sam also knew that until the pain medication kicked in that the best way to get someone's mind off from the pain was talking. Sam went into the bedroom and sat down on the side of the bed that Deeks was on. Deeks opened his eyes when he heard someone coming towards him. He thought it would have been Kensi. He didn't expect it to be Sam.

"Hey" Deeks said weakly.

"Hey. I won't ask how you are feeling. I've had a few broken ribs in my time I know they hurt like hell. Did Kensi tell you what we found out today?"

Deeks shook his head as he spoke. "No"

"Bates and Hetty came to the hospital as well as the Police Commissioner. He needs solid evidence against Walker to do something. He is granting you two months of medical leave. So Walker won't be able to send you out anywhere. We are going to need to know what happened in the last four months, but we don't have to do that now. Eric and Nell are looking into Walker and his activities. We will get something solid on him Deeks. The two guys that attacked you."

"Are they dead?" Deeks cut Sam off.

"No. They were both at the same hospital so Callen and I went to speak to the one man, Matt Levi. He was beat up but he's going to be fine. The other man is in the ICU, but the nurse said they expect him to be fine. The knife did a lot of damage. We don't know what kind of knife it was yet, but apparently it had a special blade on it. He couldn't talk so we didn't go and see him. Levi did say that someone told the target that you were a cop and those two men were told to take care of you. I showed Levi a picture of Walker and he did make the ID that Walker was the one that told the target about you. Bates and Hetty spoke to him again and he said that Walker had connections for across the border and Walker had been at a party in the past. Eric and Nell are looking into his cell phone."

"He never called on it. He would go to a payphone at the Sun Convenience down on fifth and Day." Deeks voice was still rough and raspy and Sam felt bad for making him talk.

"I'll let them know and they can go through the phone. Deeks, why didn't you call us or Bates?"

"I couldn't. My phone wasn't working properly I think he did something to it. So I went to use a payphone, but he called me and said he knew where I was."

"He had someone following you." Sam said.

"I think so, but I could never see anyone. There was never anyone that stood out or that I saw more than once. Whoever it was, was either really good or he had different people doing it. I didn't want to get Bates in trouble. He has a clean record and is in a good place right now. Walker could have torn everything away from him and this job is all he has."

"He probably had more than one person following you. Do you think he has dirty cops working for him?" Sam asked carefully.

"I don't know. It's hard to say if they are dirty or just doing their job. He's the Chief of Police and if he comes up to you and tells you to do something, you kinda have to do it. You could see if he goes to the same people for other favors. It would be in the system."

"Okay I can pass that along to Eric and Nell. We'll figure this all out Deeks. It's going to take some time, but we have two months before Walker can even start to try and get to you."

"If Walker thinks you are closing in on him he won't leave. He'll take matters into his own hands."

"He'll come for you." Sam summed up.

"Ya"

"It's a good thing you have a great shot then." Sam tried to joke.

"Never shot with a brace on before. I'd imagine that would hurt."

"It will be okay Deeks. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but it will be okay."

"How's the family?" Deeks asked hoping to change the subject.

"They're good. Maddie is looking forward to graduating and going to middle school. She said she's too big for the small school she is in now. Melanie is just happy to have the school to herself. They love each other, but apparently being in the same school is getting old for them."

Deeks let out a chuckle to that. "Just wait until they start dating."

"It's a good thing I know how to shoot." Sam joked.

"You're gonna need it. They are very beautiful little girls. You're gonna have trouble."

"I begged Michelle for a boy."

"Technically, you're the one that decides what the outcome is and that is all I remember from health class."

Sam smiled. "You actually went to class?"

"Every day, me and the five other kids in the class that actually showed up. I liked school until law school."

"Why not law school?"

"Because that's when school stopped being about a safe place to be to a different world. It was full of stuck up rich kids who got there because mommy and daddy paid their way. They used to look at the handful of us that were from the street like we didn't belong there. That was when I got the first real look at how hard it was going to be in the working world. Had to fight to prove that I belonged there. It was worth it though, just putting the fancy defense attorney from Harvard Law into his place in court. Wounding the egos of the stuck up rich folk."

"I've never had to deal with that. I'm from Brooklyn, but my dad was in the Marines. Us army brats stuck together. We didn't live anywhere near the ghetto."

"I lived in the projects by the beach until I went to College and stayed in the dorms."

"Now you live back on the beach."

"Wouldn't want to live anywhere else."

Deeks had his eyes closed by now and Sam could see that the pain medication was kicking in.

"Where's your gun?"

"It's in my car back at Ops."

"Okay Kensi was bringing Callen back I'll text her and have her grab it for you just in case."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he shows up here."

"That would be incredibly stupid if he does. I'm gonna be here for a while tonight just in case anyone decides to show up. You should sleep or try to sleep. Kensi will be back within an hour. Call me if you need anything."

"I'm fine."

"You will be."

Sam patted Deeks' knee and he got up off the bed and headed out of the room. Sam headed back out into the living room and sent Kensi a quick text letting her know about Deeks' gun in his car. Once that was done he sat down on the couch and tried to get his mind together. There had to be a way to keep Deeks safe while he was alone. They couldn't be here with him twenty-four seven until Walker was in jail and even afterwards he could have someone come after Deeks. There had to be some way that they could keep an eye on Deeks, but not invade his privacy. Sam opened the front door and stood out on the front porch. He left the door open so he could hear Deeks if he called for him, but Deeks wouldn't be able to hear his conversation. He called Eric to see if there was something they could do.

"Sam, everything okay?" Eric asked.

"Everything is fine. Is Callen there yet?"

"Ya I'll put you on speaker."

Eric hit the speaker button and then he spoke.

"Okay you have me, Nell and Callen."

"What's going on Sam?" Callen asked.

"Nothing, Deeks is fine. I talked to him a little bit and he said that Walker uses a payphone at Sun Convenience at Fifth and Day. He also said that one day his phone started acting weird and it wouldn't work. Walker also knew where Deeks was at all times. Deeks thinks that he had different people following him, because he never noticed anyone or saw the same person twice."

"Okay we'll look up the payphone records and see what we can find. We also have Deeks' phone hooked up to see if there is anything on it. On a side note Walker keeps calling him so you might be expecting company." Eric said.

"That's also why I'm calling. He could come over to Deeks' or have someone else. We can't keep an eye on Deeks twenty-four seven. Is there something we can do to keep an eye on Deeks' apartment without having to physically be here?" Sam asked.

"What about cameras in just part of his apartment?" Callen suggested.

"We do have cameras that we could hook up in his living room and out front of his apartment. The cameras have an alarm set-up with them so if someone stands in front of Deeks' door for longer than fifteen seconds it sends a message to Eric's phone and Ops." Nell said.

"I can talk to Deeks about it. I'm not too sure how happy he would be with having cameras, but that might be the only way." Sam said.

"The cameras would only be in his living room and there would be no mics. So it's only a small invasion of privacy." Eric added.

"Kensi might be better for that conversation." Callen added.

"Did we find anything yet?" Sam asked.

"So far Walker has a perfectly clean record. We're digging through to see what he might be hiding in his financials and any contact he's had with the gang. We also found the operation in L.A.P.D's system, but we already know what happened." Eric said.

"Are you going to stay there for a while?" Callen asked.

"I am for tonight. I don't want to leave and then someone shows up."

"Good stay there just in case. Kensi will be back shortly. Did Deeks say anything else?" Callen asked.

"Just that we might be able to find any dirty cops through the system. Deeks said that if Walker made any personal requests for certain jobs it will be there. Maybe we can find a few cops that work for Walker personally, get them to turn on him." Sam suggested.

"We can do that." Nell said.

"I'm going to stay here until we have a lead. I'll call you when we get something." Callen said.

"I'll be here. If Deeks wakes up and thinks of something I'll call you."

"Give Deeks our best." Nell said.

"I will."

Sam hung up his cell phone and took a quick look around outside from the porch. He didn't see anyone so he went back inside and closed the door. He quietly went back to Deeks' bedroom and looked in. He saw that Deeks was asleep for now so he closed the door part way and headed back into the living room. He sat down on the couch and just waited for when Kensi would get back. It was another forty-five minutes before Kensi opened the front door and walked in with Monty beside her. Monty didn't even waste a second he immediately ran to Deeks' bedroom and got up on the bed and put his head right next to Deeks' ribs.

"Hey how is he?" Kensi asked.

"He's asleep or he was before Monty ran in there." Sam said with a smile.

"I'll go and check."

Kensi headed down the hallway to Deeks' bedroom. She got to the door and looked in to see Deeks asleep with Monty curled up beside him. Kensi went in and grabbed one of the throw blankets that were on Deeks' chair and put it over him. She headed back out into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"He's asleep. I know there's no food in this place so how about we order pizza?" Kensi suggested.

"Sounds good to me. I haven't eaten since this morning."

Kensi pulled out her cell phone and called the usual place that they ordered from when they were at Deeks' place for the night. She ordered two pizzas and then hung up the phone.

"So what do we know?" Kensi asked.

"Eric and Nell are still looking into Walker and Deeks' cell phone. I spoke to Deeks before he fell asleep. He said that one day his phone just started to not work properly. He also said that Walker only uses a payphone to make calls to his people. Eric and Nell are going to look at the payphone's records to see if they can find anything. They are also going to look into any officers that are on Walker's call list. Deeks said that Walker always knew where he was and he never saw the same person twice or even noticed anyone following him, but someone must have been."

"Walker could have had different people following Deeks at any time. Deeks would have noticed the same vehicle or person."

"Eric and Nell are looking into it and Callen is going to stay at Ops for a little while to see if they come up with a lead. There is also something we need to speak to Deeks about and that's security. Walker could come for him or send someone after him. Eric suggested these cameras that will send an alarm to Eric's phone and Ops if someone is standing in front of them for longer than fifteen seconds. He could put the cameras up in Deeks' living room and on his front door outside. There's no mics attached to them so it's not a total invasion of privacy."

"Deeks will probably be fine with that. I think we should do that sooner rather than later. There's no telling what Walker might do."

"That's the thing we can't be here twenty-four seven. Deeks won't want to have someone here that much. He's going to need space and time alone to get over what has happened. The cameras will at least allow us to know if something happens."

"I think we should just have Eric come and put them in and then explain to Deeks why we did it. I think he'll be fine with it. It's for his safety and as long as they aren't in the bedroom I think he'll be okay."

"I'll call Eric then and see if he can have the cameras set-up tonight."

Sam pulled out his cell phone and dialed Ops once again. Sam was feeling a little bad about everything they were having Eric and Nell doing, but they had to keep Deeks safe first above anything else.

"Hey Sam." Nell answered.

"Hey. I spoke to Kensi about the cameras and she thinks that Deeks will be okay with it as long as they are just in the living room and on the front door."

"Well that's good, because Eric is already on his way over there with the cameras. Hetty heard of the suggestion and decided to go along with it. He should be there shortly to install them."

"Did you guys find anything yet?"

"The diagnostic on Deeks' cell phone came back with a program that was wirelessly installed on it. Callen went to pick up the man behind it. We were able to track him based on the wireless I.D number. His name is Ian Summers; he was an I.T tech for L.A.P.D before he was terminated due to misconduct. Apparently he was doing some shady work for some shady people on the side."

"Okay, anything on Walker or his phone calls?"

"The payphone kicked back a few numbers that were the same for incoming and outgoing. I'm running the numbers through the system now to see who they are. So far Walker has been able to keep his hands clean. I'm searching for any offshore accounts that maybe he stored money in from his dealings with the smugglers."

"Thanks Nell." Sam hung up his phone and then told Kensi what was going on. "Eric is already on his way over here with the cameras. Hetty heard and she wants it done."

"Well that's good. Did they find anything yet?"

"They found the payphone record that Walker always uses. There were a few numbers that were the same and Nell is running them now. Callen is on his way to speak with Ian Summers, he put a program on Deeks' phone. Nell didn't say what it was, but Ian used to work for the L.A.P.D as an I.T Tech before he was fired for doing shady work on the side."

"Maybe he'll be able to help with any evidence that we need. Tracking someone's phone isn't legal. Walker wouldn't have had a reason to do it other than to stalk Deeks. What about his financials?"

"Nothing came up in his accounts. Nell is searching for any offshore accounts. There's no way he was helping them smuggle drugs and guns across the border without taking a payout. The money is somewhere."

"Callen told me about Deeks' theory about some dirty cops working for Walker. I called Bates and told him and he agreed. He already had a few suspects in mind so he is going to handle looking into that. He has more access to records that aren't put into the system then we do."

"Good at least Deeks has one ally in the L.A.P.D."

There was a knock at the door and Kensi got up.

"That must be Eric." She said as she went to the door.

She opened it and sure enough Eric was standing there was a small box in his hand.

"Hey come on in." Kensi said.

Eric walked into the room. "Hey guys. How's Deeks?"

"He's asleep. He'll feel a lot better once he gets enough rest." Sam said.

"Good. So I have four cameras, three for in here and one on the outside of the door. They are wireless so we don't have to worry about someone seeing the cords. I'll hide them so no one notices them. If someone does come here for Deeks an alarm will go off on my phone and in the Ops center after someone standing there for fifteen seconds. Now I can turn the alarm off before it happens if Deeks is expecting someone, like you guys. I just need a text and I can do that."

"As long as he is safe." Kensi said.

"This will make him safe when he's alone. Hopefully we will have something soon that we can use against Walker." Eric said.

"You and Nell are amazing. We know you'll find us a string we can pull." Sam said.

"Thanks. I'll set these up."

Kensi sat down in the chair and Eric went to work on setting up the cameras in the living room and on the outside of the door. He needed to hide them so no one would spot them and stop what they were doing. After forty minutes the cameras were installed and the pizza had just arrived. Sam paid for it and brought it into the living room and placed it down on the coffee table.

"Eric come and have some pizza before you head back." Sam said.

"Sounds good."

Eric sat down on the couch at the other end and the three of them just kept the conversation light as they ate. There was only so much you could talk about what happened and what to do next. The only thing they could do was wait for something to come up that would give them enough to go for Walker. It was nearing eight o'clock at night and Deeks had gone back to sleep after every time Kensi had to wake him up. She could barely get him to stay awake long enough to ask him any questions. His body was just beyond exhausted. Monty still hadn't moved from his spot on the bed and Kensi knew she would need to drag him out of there to go for a walk soon.

"You should go home. Michelle must be wondering where you are by now."

"I told her I was staying here tonight. I told her what happened and she understands."

"Sam you don't have to stay. I'm here with him plus the cameras are working."

"I want to be here tonight. I want to make sure he's okay."

"You really care about him. I mean I know you cared before, but now you really do care about him."

"I misjudged him. It was my mistake and I'm not making that one again. He risked his life to save mine and my family. I never looked deeper into Deeks and why he is the way that he is. I should have seen it, but I didn't. Deeks is a good guy and once I saw him for who he is; I realized that he is a great friend to have. He's like a little brother now and I want to help him."

"Deeks has always been a good man. I just wish I had noticed he had these problems. He hides it so well. When I think back to all the times that Monty was there with him and I teased him about Monty and why he was there. He just used to say that Monty had PTSD and needed to be around him that day. When the truth was he needed Monty around him. I just, I don't understand why he just didn't tell me the truth. I would have understood."

"Deeks isn't one to share you know that. We know nothing about his personal life and he's been with us for three years. You know more about him than we do. Deeks probably thought that we would think he wasn't capable of doing the job. The fact that Deeks does this job and does it on days where he has anxiety just shows what a great cop he is and a great Agent he'll be. We just need to show him to open up and let him know that we aren't going anywhere no matter what."

"Do you think he'll come back to work after all of this?"

"I think so. He came back after being tortured so I think that he'll recover from this quickly and be back to work in no time."

"I hope so. I don't want another partner. I trust Deeks, he's my best friend. I couldn't imagine not having him as my partner anymore."

"You two are pretty close."

"We're partners of course we're close. You and Callen are close."

"Not as close as you and Deeks."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"We've all seen it. The way you both look at each other. The way you interact. Nothing might not have happened yet, but we all see it Kensi. One day you might find yourself working with me or Callen as your partner and you know why."

Kensi was quiet for a few minutes. She thought about what Sam had said and she knew that one day her and Deeks would be forced to work with someone else. She would be with Callen or Sam as her partner while Deeks was with the other. When she thought about it, it wouldn't be so bad. She could still work with Deeks and they could still hang out and bother each other during the day. It also meant that she could have Deeks at night. They could go for dinner or curl up on the couch just watching movies and laughing until it hurt. Ever since Jack Kensi hadn't wanted to be with anyone. She had these one night stands and that was it. With Deeks though, she wanted to wake up to him in the morning. She wanted to be dragged out of bed at six in the morning to sit on a beach and watch him surf. She wanted to laugh so hard that it hurt. Even with Jack she hadn't felt that way before. There was just something about Deeks and starting something serious with him wasn't nearly as scary as she thought it would be.

"He kissed me before you went into the pool." Kensi said softly.

"So you guys are together?"

"No. After what happened he couldn't handle doing something serious. We haven't even spoken about it. He wants to become something serious and I want to. We're just waiting for the right time for that. Waiting for when he's ready."

"So it looks like we'll be switching it up after all."

"Maybe. If Hetty thinks we need to. Nothing has happened since and I don't know when something would ever happen. The balls in his court."

"Then he's definitely serving it back to you. Kensi, Deeks is crazy about you. He might not have been in the right mindset back then to start something, but he's definitely going to start something with you. It's going to be sooner rather than later."

"Maybe. Only time will tell. I should go and take Monty for a walk. He's been in there a long time he probably has to go."

"Oh sure changing the subject." Sam said with a smile.

Kensi got up and just grabbed the leash and headed for the bedroom. Monty was still in the same spot, but once she showed him the leash he got off the bed and went over to her. The walk was going to do her some good as well. She was getting tired and she knew she had a long night ahead of her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

It was nine in the morning when Deeks slowly emerged from his bedroom. He was in a great deal of pain and he was sore from lying down in the same spot all night long. Kensi had come in and woken him up throughout the night and Deeks had to say he barely remembered any of it. He was so exhausted he just wanted to sleep and he was glad that Kensi stopped waking him up at four in the morning. Deeks knew he had to be careful of his concussion he had had them before. Deeks wasn't worried though, because he wasn't going to be going anywhere. He had ever intentions of hiding away in his apartment until he was able to move around okay again. The only thing that he was leaving his apartment for was to take Monty out. When Deeks woke up he noticed that Monty wasn't beside him and he figured he would be out in the living room. Deeks went out into the living room to see Sam sitting down on his couch with a cup of coffee in his hand. Kensi and Monty were nowhere to be found. Deeks made his way over to the couch and sat down slowly.

"Morning Deeks. You alright?" Sam asked with concern.

"Ya just sore. Where's Kens and Monty?"

"She took him for a run. He seemed to be getting a little anxious she thought it would help."

"He gets like that sometimes when he doesn't understand what's going on."

"He's a good dog. He's refused to leave your side all night. Kensi had to bribe him with the leash to get him to even move."

"I can't tell you how many times he's helped me get through this job. Through going undercover. I never realised just how dangerous this job is until I started working with you guys. You guys do everything you can do to make sure everything is covered and there's constant back-up. It's completely opposite for L.A.P.D. I can't do it anymore Sam."

"And you won't have to. Eric and Nell are the best. They won't stop until they have something for us to use against Walker. They went through the payphone and found some repeating numbers, they are running the numbers. Callen went and spoke to Ian Summers; he's an ex- I.T Tech for L.A.P.D that Walker hired to put a program onto your phone to make it not work properly. Bates is going through any possible dirty cops that are on Walker's payroll. Callen has Matt Levi at the boatshed right now getting his statement. We also have Ian Summers statement and when you are feeling up to it we can get yours. Nell is searching any offshore accounts for any large sums of money. We will get him Deeks."

"So what are you doing here with all of that going on then?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay. I'll go in shortly to help Callen out with everything. There is one thing I need to tell you. Eric came by yesterday afternoon and installed four cameras, three in here and one on your front door. Hetty and the rest of us wanted to make sure that you would be safe. Like you said Walker could come after you or send someone after you and we want to make sure you are safe. The cameras will send Eric and the Ops center an alarm when someone is standing out front of your door for more than fifteen seconds. The alarm can be turned off if you are expecting company. He said you can just text him and he'll turn the alarm off."

"That's fine. I hate cameras, but I'm used to it from being in a cover house. Tell Eric to stop freaking out." Deeks lightly joked.

"How are you holding up with all of this Deeks?" Sam asked with a serious voice.

"It's hard, but I'll be fine. I just need sleep and it'll get easier."

Deeks said as he looked down.

"You look like you want to ask me something, but you're not sure if you should. What's on your mind Deeks?"

"How are you okay after everything? You were electrocuted and yet you're fine."

"I had nightmares afterwards. Deeks what happened to me was bad, but it wasn't the worst thing that has happened to me. At the end of the day I went home to my family. To my wife and my daughters talking about school and what boy they like. I have my family and that helps tremendously. Deeks you can't get over what happened alone. You have Monty and that's great, but Monty can't talk back to you. The team is here for you Deeks. If you ever need to talk you can call me. I don't care what time it is Deeks, if you need to talk then call me. Deeks I think you know that you have had this PTSD a lot longer than just ten months." Sam said carefully.

Sam didn't know how Deeks would react if he knew that Bates had told them a few things about growing up. Deeks was a private person and Sam could understand that, but this was something that Deeks needed to talk about.

"God it's been ten months already. This year has gone by so fast." Deeks said trying to change the subject, but Sam wasn't going to have it.

"Deeks you know what I'm talking about. You've had it since you were little. Bates told us about when you were seven." Sam said gently.

"He thinks I don't know it was him." Deeks said softly after a few minutes of silence.

"You remember him?"

"I couldn't forget. I guess looking back it started after that night." Deeks said looking down at his hands that were in his lap.

"Don't you have any family? Mother? Sibling? Someone?"

"My mom's dead and I have a foster sister, but we don't really talk."

"Foster sister?"

"I did a few tours in some foster homes after I shot my father. Not as many as Callen, but a few."

"They didn't let you stay with your mother after you're father went to jail?"

"They couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because she was dead. It wouldn't have mattered anyways. The court was involved and she was addicted to prescription pills. I would have been put into the system anyways."

"Have you ever told anyone what happened that night Deeks?"

"No. I didn't need to. The cops figured it out pretty quick, so there was no need to ask me."

Deeks readjusted on the couch and Sam could see the pain all across his face.

"Did you take any medication?"

"Ya I took a pill."

"Deeks, what happened that night?" Sam asked gently.

Deeks looked at Sam and could see that he genuinely cared and was asking to give Deeks the chance to talk about it for the first time. However, if Deeks said no Sam wouldn't push. Sam was just offering a listening ear. It wasn't like Deeks hadn't thought about talking about it with someone. The problem was finding someone who wouldn't judge him and would actually listen to him. Deeks didn't need someone telling him to get over it and move on already. Deeks didn't need someone to tell him that what happened to him was nothing and he was making way too big of a deal out of it. Deeks knew Sam wouldn't do that with him. Sam would sit there and just listen to what Deeks had to say.

"I remember it was seven at night and I was just getting home. My dad was a mean drunk, but he was even worse sober. He was just this cruel monster, but sometimes if he was just into his second or third beer he was nice. That was the only window of opportunity I had so I would try and time it right. I could come inside; grab something real quick in the kitchen before heading up to my room without getting my dad mad. If he was drunk and he would hit on me or my mom it would be bad, but you knew it would only last fifteen minutes max before he got too tired and had to stop. Sober though, he could go for hours straight before he got bored with it and would leave you alone. I remember that night that he was sober. I remember walking in and mom was on the floor, blood was everywhere and he was choking her. She wasn't a good mom. I hated that she was always high and spending whatever money we had on pills. She would direct his anger towards me most of the time and she never helped when I was hurt or stopped him when she could have. She was my mom though and I couldn't let him just kill her. So I grabbed the lamp that was on the end table and smashed it over his head. He let her go, but he turned on me. I remember his eyes were just dark. It was like he was possessed. Then the next thing I remember is running up the stairs and there was blood all over me. He was chasing me with the shotgun. I went into my room and reached under my bed for the revolver that Ray had given me a few months before. He came in and we both raised our guns at each other. I knew he would shoot me so I didn't hesitate. I just pulled the trigger and he was shot in the chest. I'm assuming one of the neighbors called the police when they heard the shot. It was the projects so screaming and banging everyone ignored, but a gunshot wasn't so easy to ignore. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital. A detective told me that my mom was dead from that night and my dad was in jail. It was six months later. Apparently the police were called just after eleven at night. Four hours I don't remember from whatever he did to me. The doctor told me he was surprised that I had made it or that I was even able to focus enough to make the shot. Whatever he did to me I spent six months in a coma. To this day I still don't know what he did to me. I told the doctor that I didn't want to know and he respected my wishes."

"After that you were placed into the system?"

Sam couldn't believe what had happened that night. Sam knew that Deeks had shot his father in self-defence, but he never thought it was that bad.

"Ya, but I was the eleven year old that shot his own father so they didn't have much luck in placements. The good homes didn't want to risk me being around their own children so I went to the more questionable places. I kept in touch with Ray and until I was sixteen I just ran the streets with him. I got into some trouble with the law and it was always the same judge that had me in his courtroom. When I was sixteen he put me on probation and when I was leaving he told me that I was going home with him. It took some convincing, but I did go with him and I stayed there for two years. His wife died from cancer a few years before that and he had a little girl. He never adopted me, but when I turned eighteen I took his last name. I wanted to get rid of everything to do with my father and he understood that. I went into law school and tried to make him proud. He died ten years ago from cancer and I haven't really spoken to Amanda since. She never liked me too much. She was young and thought I was trying to take her place in her father's life. She knows though, that if she is ever in trouble she can call me and I'll be there."

"But she won't be there for you?"

"We come from different worlds. She doesn't understand mine any more then I understand hers. We're just too different to be close and understand each other. It's no one's fault it just worked out that way. I appreciate her putting up with me living there for two years and we did have times where we got along and did things together. Her dad saved my life. If it wasn't for him I would still be running the streets and you guys would be trying to catch me." Deeks said with a sly smile.

"I'm glad he came into your life. You're a good man Deeks where you came from doesn't change that. I believe you would have found your way onto the right path eventually. You were born with that heart, you didn't develop it. You put the work into getting out of that life. You put the work into bettering yourself and you don't give yourself enough credit. I can tell you right now that I am not going to rest until you have a proper self-esteem and stop letting people bully you and being a push-over. You deserve people's respect Deeks and you need to start sticking up for yourself."

"I'm not so good at that part. It kinda gets stuck in your head that you're gonna be hit if you say something. Some days are just worse than others. Believe it or not I am better than I was. Being undercover and constantly being different people was something I wanted when I was younger. Working with you guys though has shown me that it's okay to be myself. So I'm working on it."

"It'll take some time, but you'll get there. Just like things with Kensi will work out. When you're ready everything will work out."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Deeks said with a sly smile.

"Ya I'm real sure you don't." Sam joked back.

"It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world though, right?" Deeks said slightly unsure.

"Kensi is like a little sister to Callen and I. I can't speak for Callen, but for myself I don't think Kensi could find a better man than you. I couldn't ask for a better man for Kensi. She's ready for when you are ready."

Just then the door opened and Kensi walked in with Monty behind her.

"Hey Deeks. How are you feeling?" Kensi asked as she took Monty off his leash.

Monty immediately ran over to Deeks and put his head down on Deeks' leg. Deeks petted Monty as he spoke.

"I'm good. Just need about three days' worth of sleep and then I'll be in perfect health."

"Minus the injuries of course." Kensi joked as she sat down in the chair.

"Thank-you for taking Monty out."

"Anytime partner. Although after these last five months I want visitation rights on the weekends." Kensi joked.

Deeks smiled. "You can spend the weekend here any time princess."

"Oh you are so lucky you are injured or I would punch you so hard for that."

"So violent. You need more hugs. Don't you think Sam?" Deeks smirked as he looked at Sam.

"I think a few hugs a day couldn't hurt." Sam joked with Deeks.

"You two getting along just might be dangerous." Kensi joked.

It had felt good to be joking around with her partner again and to know that Sam was okay with Deeks now made it even better.

"In all seriousness I'm grateful for you both staying here last night, but get the hell out of here. You should be at work and not here." Deeks said.

"Are you sure Deeks?" Sam asked.

"You want to be there. I want to be there, so don't tell me you don't want to. Go help Callen. I'm fine. Got these lovely cameras here to keep an eye on the place."

"Deeks." Kensi started.

"Kens really I'm okay. I'm just gonna sleep. You have my spare key you can come back whenever you want later. It's okay go to work."

"Alright, but you don't have your cell phone it's still at Ops." Kensi said as she stood up.

"I know. I have a home phone I can use if I need to. Stop worrying I'll be fine."

"Alright let's go and see what the guys found out. There's pizza in the fridge from last night if you want." Sam said as he got up off from the couch.

"Sweet might try eating later."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kensi asked.

"I'll be fine. Walker is not stupid enough to try something, especially so close to what happened. Go everything will be fine."

"We'll come see you later on tonight. Call if you need anything." Sam said.

"I will."

"I'll see you later on tonight. Your gun is in the nightstand by your bed." Kensi said.

"Okay, be safe" Deeks said.

Kensi smiled at Deeks and her and Sam headed out of the apartment. They didn't want to leave Deeks alone, but he had a good point. Walker wouldn't try anything so close to his last attempt. Deeks would be safe with the cameras and he would just sleep. His body needed the sleep and now that he was back home and safe his mind was letting him sleep. Monty would keep him company and later on tonight when they were done for the day she would go back to Deeks' for the night. Deeks looked down at Monty as he spoke.

"Let's go back to bed boy. Daddy's exhausted and sore."

Monty licked Deeks' hand as he moved his head off from Deeks' leg. Deeks got up and Monty walked right beside him going at Deeks' pace just in case. Deeks got into the bedroom and Monty went up on the bed. Deeks laid back down being careful of his ribs. He reached for the blanket, but it was too far and it was causing him pain to stretch out. Monty went over to the blanket and pulled it until it was on Deeks' chest. Deeks smiled at Monty and gave his head a rub.

"Thanks boy."

Deeks covered himself with the blanket. Later when he was feeling up to it he would get changed from his jeans and into something more comfortable. For now though he was in too much pain to even try to change his pants. Deeks just closed his eyes and let the exhaustion kick in.

Sam and Kensi headed into Ops to see what everyone had found out since last night. They were both worried about leaving Deeks alone, but he had a good point. With the cameras they could keep an eye on his place and it would be stupid for Walker to try something so close to the last attempt. Sam and Kensi headed up to the Ops center to speak with Eric and Nell. When they got up there Hetty, Granger and Callen were up there going over everything already.

"Ah Mr. Hanna and Miss. Blye so nice of you to join us. How is Mr. Deeks?" Hetty asked.

"He's in pain and exhausted, but he'll be fine." Kensi said.

"He kick you out?" Callen asked.

"Ya he told us to come in and help. I told him about the cameras and he was fine with it." Sam said.

"We'll keep the cameras up while we are working so we can see if something happens." Eric said.

"I don't think Walker will try something this close to what just happened." Callen said.

"Probably not, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Why don't we update Mr. Hanna and Miss. Blye on what we have so far." Hetty said.

"Summers gave me a written statement last night for his involvement with Deeks' phone. Walker approached him four months ago and paid him to put a scrambler on Deeks' phone. Summers took it to a different level for Walker. He made it so Deeks could receive calls from Walker, but he couldn't from anyone else or make any. Whenever he tried his phone would have kept shutting off." Callen said.

"I fixed Deeks' phone so it works normally now." Eric said.

"I had Levi in the boatshed earlier and got his official statement both are sitting in jail now." Callen added.

"So once we have Deeks' statement that will give us three." Kensi said.

"It still won't be enough though to put Walker in jail we need proof that he ratted Deeks out." Sam said.

"We found eight numbers that belonged to L.A.P.D on the payphone that Walker uses. We pulled up those eight officer's phone records and they have all been in contact with Walker and each other. Each of the calls whether it was incoming or outgoing are no longer than five minutes. None of which went to voicemail." Nell said.

"Just long enough to tell the other what they saw and where Deeks is or going to be." Sam said.

"We passed the names along to Bates and he was going to look into it from the inside. He has access to files that we don't." Nell added.

"What about the financials?" Kensi asked.

"Still looking." Eric said.

"There are eight dirty cops out there. Can't we just grab one and shake him down? I know it'll be just another statement, but with statements piling up the Police Commissioner can't just ignore them." Sam said.

"L.A.P.D doesn't work the same as an Agency. A cop could be dirty and still be able to wear the badge. It just depends on what he was dirty for. These eight could simply say that they were following orders. Walker is the Chief of Police and those eight are covered by that." Granger said.

"We need Mr. Bates to find something that shows they were doing more than just following orders." Hetty said.

"Do we have a picture of them? Maybe one of them was there at Deeks' apartment yesterday." Kensi suggested.

Eric hit a few buttons on his tablet and the eight officers were up on the big screen.

"Four of those guys were there yesterday." Sam said.

"And the one, Officer Randy, was out front of Levi's hospital room yesterday." Callen said.

"Officer Mike Randy has only been on the job for six months." Nell said.

"If any of the eight were going to break and give you something it would be him. He's new so he's just doing what he's told to do." Granger said.

"Bates probably already has him." Callen said.

"Are any of these guys off duty?" Sam asked.

"Um…" Nell hit a few buttons on her tablet and after a minute she spoke. "Four of them are off duty. Walker approved it yesterday after the raid it looks like."

"Let's follow one. Walker might not be stupid enough to try something, but these guys might be. Four of them are off want to bet they will meet up at some point today." Sam said.

"They have to know by now that we are involved. Everyone knows that Deeks is the liaison here, but they wouldn't have known how close he is to us. Now these eight know that we're involved, because of Officer Randy guarding Levi. They might not be so willing to go down with the ship." Kensi said.

"Eric, can you tap into their phones so we can monitor any of their calls?" Callen asked.

"Ya I can and have them all recorded."

"Do that. Who has been on the job the least out of the four that are off? He's most likely to be the one to call and freak out about us being involved." Callen asked.

"That would be…" Nell said as she looked at her tablet. "Anthony Stuart, he's been on the job for a year and just four months ago applied to be in the undercover unit. He even requested to have Deeks as his training officer."

"If he wanted Deeks as his training officer, why would he help Walker in this?" Kensi asked.

"Maybe Walker wanted him to get Deeks killed? Or maybe Stuart really does look up to Deeks and is doing this thinking he is keeping him safe." Sam said.

"Follow him and see where he goes. He could just be an innocent party in all of this." Granger said.

"I will let Mr. Bates know that you will be following Officer Stuart just in case." Hetty said.

"We will get started on taping their phones and let you know if something comes in." Eric said.

"Keep an eye on Deeks." Kensi said.

"We will." Nell said.

"Let's take my car." Sam said.

"Text us his address." Callen said.

The three of them headed out and into Sam's charger so they could go and follow Officer Stuart around.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

Deeks woke to the sound of Monty barking and nudging him with his nose. Deeks moved his hand and placed it on Monty's head.

"Calm down boy, its' okay." Deeks said groggily from sleep.

"Not for you it isn't."

Deeks snapped his eyes open and saw Walker standing there in his bedroom. Deeks didn't even get the chance to react. Walker grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him out of bed throwing him out into the hallway where he hit the wall. Walker closed the bedroom door shut after kicking Monty away and further into the room. Deeks was in so much pain and his hands were still hurt from his fight just yesterday. Deeks did his best to stand up and fight, he knew that help would be on the way, but he didn't know how far away they were. It was a half hour drive from Ops to get to his place and if they were at Ops he didn't know if he could survive long enough for them to get here. Deeks stood up just as Walker hit him across the face sending him stumbling down the hallway. Just as Deeks was trying to recover Walker hit him again and again across the face and head. With each blow Deeks' mind was getting fuzzier and fuzzier. Deeks knew that he was now at least in the living room, but he wasn't able to get away. Walker threw him into the floor and got on top of him. He kept hitting Deeks on the face, head and torso. Each blow was powerful and Deeks knew he needed to try and get out of this somehow. The problem was he couldn't get the strength to fight back. His whole body hurt and his mind felt like it was going to explode. Deeks could hear Monty barking and scratching at the back of the bedroom door. Deeks did his best to fight against Walker, but he just didn't have the strength or energy. His body was done and there was nothing Deeks could do about it.

Eric and Nell were in the Ops center working on trying to track down a secret bank account when the alarm went off from the computer. Eric turned to the screen with Deeks' apartment and saw that Walker had broken in and was on his way towards Deeks' bedroom. Eric immediately called Sam's cell phone and put it on speaker. Nell put the camera feed up onto the big screen and called for Hetty.

"Eric what do you got?" Sam asked.

"You need to get over to Deeks' right now. Walker just broke in." Eric said in a hurry.

"We're on our way. Walker is at Deeks'." Sam told Callen and Kensi as he put his car into drive.

"We're too far we won't make it in time if Walker is there to kill Deeks." Kensi said.

Everyone in Ops could hear her so Eric and Nell knew that Sam put his phone on speaker. Hetty and Granger came into Ops and quickly took control.

"Call Mr. Bates and have him go to Mr. Deeks' apartment. He should be closer to him." Hetty said.

Nell turned around and called Bates and told him what happened.

"He's on his way. He's fifteen minutes out." Nell said.

"Talk to us Eric what do you see?" Callen said.

"Walker is attacking Deeks, but Deeks can barely stand. Guys Deeks does not stand a chance in this fight."

"Deeks is too weak from the last fight yesterday. He's nowhere near able to fight." Sam said.

"Deeks is trying, but he just doesn't have the energy." Nell said.

They watched as Walker stood up from Deeks and went behind him. Deeks tried to get up, but his body and head were in so much pain he couldn't even focus on anything. They watched in horror as Walker took out a sharp metal wire and went behind Deeks. He held it between his hands and put it around the front of Deeks' neck and pulled tight. Deeks put his hands on the wire and fought against Walker, but Walker was too strong for him. They could already see the blood going down Deeks' neck from the wire.

"Hurry guys. Walker is chocking him with some sort of wire. He's not going to last much longer." Eric said.

"Is there any L.A.P.D in the area that could help Deeks?" Kensi asked.

"There's no one in the area. Bates is the closest." Nell said.

"Drive faster Mr. Hanna." Hetty said.

"Eric, get the paramedics there." Callen said.

"On it." Eric said as he called in for the medics.

Deeks fought against the metal wire that was pressing into his neck, but he just couldn't win no matter how hard he tried. He brought his hands up to the wire grabbing it and trying to pull it away and off from him. The wire was slowly cutting into his hands and his neck. Deeks knew that if he passed out or lost his grip that he would be dead. He knew the others would be there he just had to try and hold out long enough. The problem was his body was burnt out. He needed the sleep and rest to recover from everything that had happened yesterday and in the last five months. Deeks could feel the blackness closing in on him. That was when he heard the growling coming towards him. Monty grabbed a hold of Walker's left ankle and started to bite and attack him. Walker didn't expect it and he started to kick his leg free causing his grip on the wire to loosen.

"Monty's attacking Walker." Eric said.

"Did Deeks get free?" Kensi asked with worry in her voice.

"Not yet, but he's getting close." Nell said.

Monty kept biting into Walker's ankle making blood pour out of his ankle and onto the floor. Walker didn't have a choice he let one hand go from the wire so he could get Monty off from him. Once Walker was no longer holding the wire Deeks moved away and Monty started to pull Walker back and away from Deeks. There was blood going down Deeks' neck and onto his shirt. Deeks put his hand over his neck to try and stop the bleeding. His vision was fuzzy and he could barely see anything.

"Monty did it. Walker let go of the wire. There's a lot of blood coming from Deeks' neck though." Eric said.

"Where are the paramedics?" Callen asked.

"Ten minutes out." Nell said.

"Where's Walker?" Sam asked.

"Fighting off Monty. Monty has him by the ankle and Walker is on his knees hitting Monty." Eric said.

Walker kept punching Monty to try and get him to let go. Monty did let go of his ankle when Walker grabbed him by the neck and threw him across the floor. Monty let out a whimper, but he wasn't going to let his owner be killed. As Walker went to go back over to finish Deeks' off Monty got up and attacked Walker's neck.

"Monty's attacking Walker's neck now." Eric said.

"He's going to kill him for hurting Deeks." Callen said.

"Monty was trained as an attack dog, but was switched at the end to the bomb squad." Kensi said.

"Deeks is almost unconscious he's losing too much blood." Granger said.

"Is Walker down?" Callen asked.

"He's still fighting Monty." Eric said.

"Monty still has a hold of his neck though." Nell said.

Just then the front door was kicked down and Bates came into the room with his gun drawn.

"Bates is there now." Eric said.

"Thank God." Kensi said with relief in her voice.

Bates went over to Monty who still had Walker's neck in his mouth and was attacking him. Bates put his gun away and looked over at Deeks to see him bleeding everywhere and worse from his neck. Bates needed to get Monty to stop attacking Walker and then take care of Deeks.

"Monty stop." Bates said as he grabbed the back of Monty's collar like they do with their attack dogs.

Monty let go of Walker and Bates wasn't worried about him. Walker was unconscious and he wasn't Bates main concern right now. Bates let Monty go, knowing that he would leave Walker alone with him there. Bates started to quickly unbutton his white dress shirt and he took it off. He bent down and placed it against Deeks' neck to try and stop the bleeding. Deeks was barely awake and Bates knew he needed him to stay awake.

"Look at me Kid. You need to stay awake. Come on the ambulance is on its way. Stay with me kid."

Bates turned to look at Monty when he heard him whimpering. Bates could see Monty curled up on the floor and he knew that Monty was hurt and in pain.

"It's okay boy. Help is on the way." Bates told Monty.

Just then Sam, Callen and Kensi ran into the apartment. Sam ran over to Deeks and Bates and he took over for Bates. Sam knew more first aid than any of them and he would know how to apply pressure without making it difficult to breathe for Deeks. Callen cuffed Walker's hands in front as Kensi went over to Deeks.

"Deeks come on stay awake. The ambulance is almost here."

"His eyes look a little uneven and dilated. I think his concussion is worse." Bates said.

Deeks' eyes kept closing and they knew they had to keep him awake. Yesterday he had a moderate concussion after the fight it could have been made worse.

"Deeks stay with me." Sam said.

Deeks was losing the fight to stay conscious and he was all too soon taken over by the darkness.

"Dammit. Deeks wake up." Sam said a little loudly hoping that would make Deeks wake up, but it didn't work.

"He's beat up pretty bad." Callen said as he stood looking over Deeks, Sam and Kensi on the floor.

There was blood all over Deeks' face and his one eye was swollen shut already. Monty let out another whimper and Bates bent down and carefully petted Monty.

"Is he okay?" Kensi asked.

"He's hurt he needs an animal hospital. I'll take him once the paramedics come then I'll meet you at the hospital." Bates said.

Eric, Nell, Granger and Hetty all stood in Ops watching the screen. Deeks was safe now, but that didn't mean he would live. They could see that he was badly injured and they didn't know if he would make it this time. They watched as the paramedics arrived and took over Sam's place. Both Sam and Bates' hands were covered in blood, Deeks' blood. The paramedics didn't even take any vitals they just loaded Deeks up onto the stretcher and took him out. Callen waited for the second ambulance for Walker and he would go with him. Sam and Kensi left with Deeks, Kensi in the ambulance and Sam behind it in the charger. Bates grabbed Monty and took him down to his car in his arms. He placed him in the backseat and then took off for the nearest animal hospital. Hetty turned to Eric and Nell.

"I want everything you have so far on Walker and this video on a flashdrive and ready in five minutes. The Police Commissioner is not going to ignore me any longer." Hetty said with a deadly tone.

Eric and Nell worked quickly to get all of the information they had gathered plus the statements and the video feed from what just happened onto a flashdrive. Sure enough five minutes later they were handing it over to Hetty.

"I'll go to the hospital and keep you updated." Granger said.

"I'll be there once I am done." Hetty said.

Hetty and Granger both left the Ops center and got into their own cars and headed off into different directions. Bates pulled up to the animal hospital and carried Monty inside. He went right over to the front desk and called for help. A young nurse came over to him and saw the state that Monty was in.

"What happened?" The nurse asked as she guided Bates over to a table to place Monty down on.

"He's a police dog and just saved the life of my detective. I don't care what you have to do, you keep this dog alive. I don't know what my detective will do if he dies." Bates said.

The veterinarian came over to them and saw Monty.

"You said this is a police dog?" The vet asked.

"Yes and I don't care how much it is or what you have to do. This dog cannot die."

"What's his name?" The vet asked.

"Monty."

"We will take good care of him. I'll do everything I can to make him better." The vet assured him.

"You can send the bill to police station twenty-five."

"Let me just get your number and I will call you once we know more." The nurse said.

Bates wrote down his number on a piece of paper than handed it back to the nurse.

"I have to go. The detective who owns Monty is in the hospital. This dog is very special and my detective relies on him. He's specialty trained to help my detective with sleepwalking and anxiety from PTSD. He needs to make it." Bates said in a serious voice.

"I give you my word. I will do everything I can to make Monty healthy." The vet said.

"Thank-you." Bates said as he headed out of the animal hospital and into his car.

Bates headed off to the hospital. He still had Deeks' blood all over his hands and he couldn't believe that Deeks was in that bad of shape. Deeks had always been a fighter. Bates was never worried about Deeks in a fight, because he always won. Deeks grew up on the streets. He grew up fighting for his life so for Deeks to be that hurt and to lose a fight was hard for Bates to handle. Bates could still see that seven year old boy lying in the hospital bed after his own father tortured him. It was hard for Bates to see Deeks as anything, but that scared little boy. It was why he always called Deeks, kid, because he had known him since he was seven. Even if Deeks didn't remember him being there, Bates did remember. This was the first time that Bates had seen Deeks that injured since he was seven. Bates drove as fast as he could to the hospital so he could make sure that Deeks would make it.

Bates arrived at the hospital to find Sam, Callen, Kensi and Granger in the waiting room. Bates went over to them to see what they knew.

"Any word?"

"Not yet. They took Deeks to get tests right away for his brain." Callen said.

"How's Monty?" Kensi asked.

"The vet has him. They have my number so they can call me if something is wrong. Where's Walker?" Bates said.

"They took him into surgery to try and repair what Monty did. The doctor didn't sound hopeful." Callen said.

"If Walker dies, Monty isn't going to be put down is he?" Kensi asked.

"Normally animal control would get involved with a dog attack and put the dog down. Monty isn't just some dog though; he's a police dog and trained to attack. Walker broke into Deeks' apartment and attacked Deeks. Monty did what he was trained to do and if it wasn't for him Deeks could be dead right now." Bates said.

"That dog just saved Deeks' life. I won't be calling him dumb anymore." Sam said.

"We got lucky that Monty was there and able to take Walker down. Hopefully they both will be okay." Callen said.

"Hetty is on her way right now with the video footage and everything that Eric and Nell were able to find on Walker to the Police Commissioner." Granger said.

"I would not want to be him right now." Sam said.

They all waited around for when the doctor came out to inform them of Deeks' condition or of Walker's. It was two hours later when Hetty came into the waiting room.

"Is there any news?" Hetty asked.

"Not yet on either one of them." Callen said.

"How did it go with the Police Commissioner?" Granger asked.

"He was not very happy about me intruding on his meeting. I showed him the video feed and what we found out so far. He issued a warrant for Mr. Walker's arrest. He and the Mayor would like to keep this out of the media of course. He is also bringing down the eight officers that were involved in following Mr. Deeks to see if they are corrupt or not." Hetty said.

"I don't think they all are. I think at least two were just doing their jobs. Officer Randy is new to the force and he was just following the Chief of Police's orders. Officer Stuart is close to becoming a detective after only a year on the force and he wanted to be in the undercover unit. He looked up to Deeks and was hoping Deeks would train him. He probably just thought he was keeping Deeks safe." Bates said.

"It's a possibility. The Police Commissioner will question them and see what they know and what their intentions were with all of this. How is Monty?" Hetty asked.

"The vet has him. I haven't heard anything yet, but they know how important Monty is to Deeks so they will do whatever they can for him." Bates said.

"How is Deeks going to handle it if Monty does die?" Sam asked.

"Not too well. Monty relies on Deeks and Deeks relies on Monty. He would need a new dog trained to help him when he sleepwalks, but he won't be very open to it right away. Monty really needs to survive this." Bates answered.

"I'm sure he will." Kensi said.

A doctor walked out into the waiting room and came over to them.

"You are the Agents that brought in Jason Walker correct?" The older male doctor asked them.

"We did. What's his status?" Callen asked.

"My name is Dr. Richard Thomas. He came in with a very serious dog bite to his neck. It tore through his main artery and his wind pipe. I'm sorry he didn't make it. We tried everything, but the bite was just too extensive."

"Thank-you for letting us know. Do you have an update on Detective Deeks?" Bates asked.

"I'm not sure on his status. He was taken down for a CT-Scan and X-rays about an hour ago. I did see him and based on what I saw you are probably in for a long wait." The doctor said sympathetically.

"Thank-you Doctor." Hetty said.

The doctor walked away and the rest of them went back to pacing around and sitting down. They took turns going to get everyone coffee down at the cafeteria. Eric and Nell had called in a few times to see if there was an update, but so far there hadn't been. The vet had called to inform Bates that Monty would recover. He needed stitches, X-rays had shown two broken ribs; he was given pain medication and was sleeping now. Everyone was relieved that Monty would pull through. It meant that Deeks wouldn't have to worry and go through the loss of his dog with all of this. It was a good five hours later when a doctor finally came towards them. They all stood up, all anxious to hear how Deeks was doing.

"You are here for Detective Deeks?" The doctor asked.

"We are. Is he alright?" Kensi asked.

"My name is Dr. Jeff Grey. Let me start by saying your friend will make a full recovery. He was brought in here yesterday with serious injuries and the last twenty-four hours hasn't changed that. He had four broken ribs on his left side and six cracked ribs on his right. He had a sprained right wrist, a moderate concussion and a few sets of stitches to various parts. We redid the stitches, his wrist is still sprained, but it was not made worse. He has a severe concussion and a hair line fracture on his skull. He has six broken ribs on his left side, four cracked and three broken on his right side. His left eye is swollen shut from the beating he took and he has ten stitches to his left cheek now as well. He has more bruising and we had to operate on a small internal bleeding in his stomach from the beating of both days. His neck had a deep laceration as well as across both palms. His palms took thirty-eight stitches on each hand and his neck took one hundred and eight. He is going to be in a great deal of pain. He is on a morphine pain pump right now so when he wakes up he can issue his own pain medication as he is allowed. He's going to be here in the hospital for at least a week. His neck will be very sore and talking will hurt for a good week or so. His voice will be low and raspy. It will hurt to talk, but it is important to have him talking a little bit each day so his vocal cords can get back into proper function. He is on oxygen right now just as a precaution with the neck injury. Do you have any questions for me?"

"He's going to make a full recovery right?" Sam asked just needing to hear the doctor saying it again.

"Yes he will. He's looking at about three to four months off from work, but once his ribs are healed he'll be cleared for duty."

"Can we see him?" Kensi asked.

"Of course. Visiting hours are over, but in this case I will make an exception and one of you can spend the night with him if you wish."

"Thank-you Dr. Grey." Hetty said.

"He is in room 507. He's asleep right now. His body needs it. A nurse will be in every two hours to check on him, because of his severe concussion. Ideally we wouldn't want him sleeping, but with the pain medication and the natural exhaustion his body is in right now. Sleep is the best thing for him. A nurse will be monitoring him all night and making sure he is okay though."

"Thank-you doctor." Kensi said.

Dr. Grey walked away and the others headed for the elevator so they could go and see Deeks. It was a silent agreement that Kensi would be staying with Deeks for the night. The others just wanted to see him before they headed home themselves. They got to Deeks' room and Sam went in first. Deeks was covered in bruises, had a bandage around his neck and had an oxygen mask on his face. They all went into the room and Kensi went over to the one side of the bed where there was a chair. Deeks was in a private room so there was a lot of space for everyone to go into the room. They all said hello to him and wished him well, even though he couldn't hear them. They left after a few minutes so they could go home and get some rest themselves. Kensi sat down in the hospital chair and stayed there for the night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

It had been four months since that day that Deeks was in the hospital after Walker once again tried to get him killed. Everyone had been supportive and helpful of him and his recovery as well as Monty's recovery. Deeks had spent a week in the hospital, but it wasn't too bad. He had slept most of the time and Kensi and Sam would sneak food in for him to eat. Once he was allowed to leave they had left the cameras up in his house just in case. Kensi had spent another two weeks at Deeks' apartment to help him out with Monty and his injuries. Sam and Callen had come by a few days a week to have dinner and just to check up on him. Deeks felt better having his new found family in his life. After the first month Hetty had an appointment set up for him to go and speak to a therapist that she found for him. At first Deeks wasn't too happy about it, but he decided to go since it was Hetty that was asking him to. Deeks was actually surprised that the therapist used to be an undercover cop and came from an abusive household growing up. He actually understood what Deeks was feeling and going through from growing up and from being undercover. He had told Deeks his story and how he ended up becoming a therapist. Deeks actually looked forward to going to his appointment every week and he still goes to this day. They had become friends and it was nice for Deeks to be able to talk to someone that he didn't work with.

Deeks had left L.A.P.D after three weeks into his recovery. He signed everything over to them and handed in his gun. He then signed the NCIS papers and he was excited to be returning to work. He never thought he would be a federal agent, but the more he thought about it the less he was scared of the thought. He was now fully healed and able to go back to work. He had a light scar across his neck from the wire, but his beard covered it anyways. He was never one to be clean shaven so it didn't bother him. It was just another scar to go on the list. It had been a hard couple of months at first with his ribs and his injuries, but Kensi was there to help him when he needed it. Deeks was just thankful that he had come out of this alive and so did Monty. Six of the officers that were following him were terminated and charged with a few various charges. The two officers, Stuart and Randy were suspended and learned a very valuable lesson. They were both just doing their job and following orders from the Chief of Police, so the Police Commissioner had let them off with a month suspension. Both had come by to apologise to Deeks for what they had contributed, even though they never got him hurt they still felt bad. Deeks had let it go. He wasn't one to hold onto grudges for they took over your life. Deeks just wanted to move passed everything that had happened. In order for him to do that he had to go and speak to Bates about a conversation that should have happened a long time ago. Deeks walked through his old station until he got to Bates' office. He knocked and waited for permission to enter. Once he had it he went into the office.

"Hey kid. How are you doing?" Bates asked with a smile.

"I'm good. Today's my first day back." Deeks said as he sat down in the chair across from Bates' desk.

"Are you nervous about being a big fancy Agent now?" Bates lightly joked.

"No. It's still the same job after all. I just call out something new when I raid a house."

"Are you okay to be there though?"

"I'm good. Everything has healed up perfectly. I'm even still speaking to a therapist once a week. I don't feel the anxiety as much anymore so I guess it is working."

"Good I'm glad you are feeling better and getting some much needed help. You shouldn't be working with so much anxiety inside of you. How's Monty?"

"He's doing good. He's all healed up and back to his old self. Man's best friend right?" Deeks said with a smile.

"He's definitely yours. So what are you doing here if you should be over there?"

"There's something I wanted to talk to you about. Something that I should have talked to you about a long time ago."

"Okay. This sounds serious. What is it?"

"I um… I wanted to thank-you for what you did for me."

"For what?" Bates asked with confusion in his voice.

"For what you did for me when I was seven."

"You remember." Bates said slightly shocked.

"You're the only one that I do remember from growing up. You were different. You didn't lecture me or pressure me to talk. You were just there. You came by and sat there and just waited for if I would talk. You treated me like a person and not just another victim. What you did meant a lot to me. For the first time I saw that cops weren't all that bad. That there were a few good ones out there."

"I just wish I could have gotten you to talk back then. Maybe things would have been different."

"Maybe, but who's to say my life would have been better? I finally have a real family. I have a job that I love and I have good friends and memories. There have been some painful times, but I wouldn't trade them for anything in this world."

"I'm glad you are speaking to a therapist. I'm glad you finally feel like you belong somewhere. I should have said something long ago to, but I just wasn't sure how you would react. You went through hell growing up and I know it wasn't easy for you. I didn't want to bring back any painful memories. You might not be one of mine anymore, but if you are ever in trouble you can call me anytime kid."

"Thanks Bates. Same goes for you. I'm more than happy to pass along my knowledge of undercover work to any new members in the unit. As long as I don't have to go undercover with them." Deeks said with a smile.

"I might take you up on that. We could use your knowledge in the academy classes."

"Anytime"

"Have a good first day as an Agent and be safe."

"I will. Thank-you for everything this past year."

"Not a problem. I better not have to do it again."

"That makes two of us."

Deeks got up and shook Bates' hand as he headed out of the office and down to the Ops center. He was excited and happy to be back to work finally after so long. It had been fourteen months since he had worked for NCIS and he was ready to get back into the swing of things. He pulled into the parking lot and parked beside Kensi's car. Deeks couldn't help the goofy smile on his face as he walked into the Ops center for the first time in close to fourteen months. Deeks walked into the bullpen and was immediately hit with streamers and confetti.

"Surprise!" Everyone yelled.

Deeks couldn't help the chuckle that came out of him at the site in front of him. Hetty, Sam, Callen, Kensi, Eric, Nell and even Granger were there with a glass of champagne in their hands. Kensi handed one to Deeks with a smile on her face.

"What is this?" Deeks asked with a smile on his face.

"This Mr. Deeks is a welcome back and congratulation party." Hetty said.

"Here is your new badge Agent Deeks." Granger said as he handed Deeks his official federal agent badge.

Deeks smiled and took his new badge and looked around at his new family.

"Thank-you for everything." Deeks said honestly.

"It's what family does Deeks." Sam said as he placed a hand on Deeks' shoulder.

"Couldn't have asked for a better one." Deeks smiled at everyone and they all toasted to Deeks' new badge and his new start.

The day went by fast and it was an easy day of just paperwork. Kensi and Deeks were heading to Deeks' apartment for some take out Chinese food and beers. They had spent a lot of time together at Deeks' apartment in the last four months. Deeks wasn't complaining at all about it. He enjoyed spending time with Kensi and he would love to spend all day long with her for the rest of his life. They had eaten dinner and watched reality T.V. They had decided to go out on the balcony and look at the beach. Kensi had come to love the look of the beach in the moonlight. Kensi leaned her arms against the balcony railing and Deeks came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I love the way the beach looks when the moonlight hits it." Kensi said.

"I love the way you look in the moonlight." Deeks said back with confidence in his voice.

Kensi smiled and she turned her head to look at him better.

"I'm glad you're back partner." Kensi said honestly.

"Me to. You're amazing you know that." Deeks said as he moved a piece of hair behind Kensi's ear. He left his hand on her cheek as they looked at each other.

"So are you. I'm so happy you are okay and back to where you belong. Have you gotten better at your communication skills though?" Kensi bravely asked and they both knew what she meant.

"I thought I had great communication skills."

"I don't know about that, but that kiss was definitely memorable."

"It definitely was."

Kensi moved her right hand up to Deeks' shirt and slowly pulled him down to her the rest of the way. The kiss was soft and gentle, but it was also full of passion. They had been wanting this for a long time and now they were finally throwing in the towel and going for it. They broke apart once they needed some air and they both just smiled at each other. Kensi turned back around so she could look out at the beach and Deeks just held her close to his chest. Deeks didn't know what the future would hold, but he was excited and happy to find out. He loved Kensi and if that meant they couldn't be partners any more than he was happy to give that part up if that meant that he could have her on a personal level. Deeks was more than ready to start his new life as an Agent and as Kensi's boyfriend. Deeks smiled as he held Kensi close to his chest and just enjoyed the waves hitting the beach.


End file.
